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I sat down and watched what turned out to be the final game of the baseball College World Series.  I was hoping the UCLA Bruins could tie the series and then win the final game and the title.  The UCLA women had already brought home another softball title.  I was very disappointed as the Bruins lost to South
Carolina 2-1 in eleven innings.  I was not disappointed with the quality of baseball and the excitement.  The game went four hours and 15 minutes and reminded me once again, that if you can get past all things outside the game baseball is still a great game.  The NCAA cannot ruin it and neither can Bud Selig.  What a great game and I would encourage you to make a point to watch at least a few innings next year.  Be careful though you may get hooked and fall in love with baseball again.

For those of you that may not know the College World Series is played in Omaha, Nebraska, in dead summer.  I grew up in Iowa and when I say dead summer, I mean dead.  In that heat you feel dead and definitely wish you were dead.  Yet the games have played to enthusiastic crowds at Rosenblatt Stadium for 61 years.   Last night was the last game to be played there as next year the event moves into a brand new stadium.  I confess I am a sometimes college baseball fan.  For some reason I am a rabid college football and basketball fan and baseball has not captured me in the same way.  Every year I will watch a few innings of a few games.  I had done the same thing this year but last night I watched from the fifth inning on.

I just wanted to congratulate both UCLA and South Carolina for this classic game and for the class both teams displayed.  I still have trouble getting used to the ping of the aluminum bats.  The pitching was outstanding and usually these games are slug fests.  Last night the pitching dominated that produced the old fashioned and some would say boring 2-1 score.  The Bruins led 1-0 until South Carolina tied it in the bottom of the eighth and then they won it in the bottom of the 11th.  I was riveted to the action.

Coach John Savage has his Bruin program in the right direction.  For South Carolina’s coach Ray Tanner, he and his squad won only the second National Title Championship in school history.  The women’s track team won the other title.  Tanners squad lost their first World Series game and came back to win six games  in a row.  There is no doubt they deserve and earned the title and thankfully there was no BCS nonsense to mess it up.  There will be no debating who should be the champion because it was won on the field and there were no polls that voted them into the World Series.  Baseball is indeed still a great game to be played on the field.  Try as they may outside influences like steroids, the NCAA and Bud cannot destroy the beauty of the game when it is played right.  The College World Series has great tradition and I look forward to the new park next year and hopefully for a final game to match this one.

The Umpires are the persons designated to enforce the rules of baseball during a game. In Major League Baseball, there are four umpires per game, one positioned behind the plate (the home plate umpire) who is responsible for calling balls and strikes as well as plays at the plate, and one behind each of the bases (the base umpires) who are positioned to make calls on plays at their base, or in the outfield. The home plate umpire also has responsibility for keeping the official line-up cards; he is the only person who can determine if a substitution is legal or whether a batter is out of turn; he must be advised beforehand if a manager intends to make a double-switch.

During the All-Star Game and postseason games, two additional umpires take the field, positioned along the left and right foul lines in the outfield. Their main responsibility is to make calls on whether balls hit to the outfield are fair or foul, and whether balls have been caught on the fly or trapped. At lower levels, games can be umpired by three, two or even one official; in fact, in the early days of professional baseball, the one-umpire system was most common.

Basketball referees must know the rules of basketball inside and out. Basketball rules vary at each level of play, though basic rules are the same for every league. A basketball referee should study the game rules of every league he plans on officiating. The last thing any basketball referee wants is to encounter confusion as an official during a basketball game. Rule books should be available for every league you officiate. Documentation of every obstacle or disagreement should be found in rule books.

The official soccer rules are called the “Laws of the Game” and are revised annually (usually in July) by FIFA, the world soccer governing body, but youth organizations usually adjust the rules to fit children. Typical adjustments are field sizes, game lengths, number of players per team, the number and frequency of substitutions, “offside” is sometimes not called, and slide tackling is sometimes not allowed. Field sizes, ball sizes, length of games & rules vary by age group. The FIFA rules do not require separate teams for girls and boys, but many soccer clubs and associations have separate leagues for boys and girls. Discuss the rule variations with an official of your league. You can find the “Laws of the Game” at FIFA.com (on the FIFA Home Page enter “Laws” in the search feature).

Title IX, how amazing that none of the above really matter anymore. Who cares about rules? It has been my displeasure to watch the NBA finals, where if you knew how to act as well as Paul Pierce, you could get a foul called on almost any play. Plus, I never knew that guarding in the NBA was “palm on the back was a foul”, but a “KG love hug” on almost every play was not. Do not get me wrong the Lakers were just as guilty at their end of the court.

But as bad as basketball is, it cannot compare to “the flop” that we see in the world of soccer. Can you imagine how littered the floor would be with bodies if a soccer team ever came to visit the crew on FNM? After fifteen minutes of a verbal attack from the Franchise and then a follow up attack from Title IX or Pedal to the Metal there would be bodies all over the floor rolling and writhing in pain. OH THE HUMANITY!

And let us not forget baseball, where the umpires get more dramatic in each one of their calls. It has been our pleasure to broadcast many baseball and softball games on multiple levels this year. In many of those games, we are situated right behind the plate and can observe the same strike zone as the pitcher, catcher, batter and umpire. I know I am older than my partners, but I can still see, and I know that the strike zone is not six inches outside the plate or three inches off the ground. And please do not say “Well, he is calling it the same way for both teams”. You’re right, he or she is calling it the same way for both teams, be it BASKETBALL, BASEBALL or SOCCER. But they are calling it wrong!

If a writer takes a classic story and rewrites it destroying all the common threads in the story line, we as a viewing audience have a fit and we refuse to see the film. If a news commentator takes a politician’s quote out of context and twist it upside down and inside out, we grumble and complain that the commentator violated a principle of ethics. If we play a game with our family, friends, and acquaintances and we peak over someone’s shoulder in cards, or miscount our strokes on a golf course, no one would want to play with us again.  So why do the officials of many sports feel like they must bend the rules to make the game more exciting, suspenseful, close? Or is it the “policeman” mentality “I AM THE LAW”(Judge Dread-Stallone) and I must be a seen part of the game?

Too many times we have seen a game changed, rearranged or totally destroyed on a call by an official who KNEW that particular call would have a significant effect on the outcome of a game. NO, I am not talking about a missed call, or a call that if there are four of us in a room two of us see it one way and two of us see it the other way. I am talking the non winning goal in WORLD CUP USA vs. SLOVENAIA, the missed call at 1st BASE FOR A PERFECT GAME AND THERE IS NO DISCUSSION BETWEEN ALL THE UMPIRES, or the ball is knocked out of bounds by one team, no I saw it, BUT YOU DID SEE THE ARM BEING RIPPED OFF AT THE SOCKET -you didn’t see it but it is a foul, you didn’t see it but he was tagged, you didn’t see it but it’s a red card. When will today’s refs, umpires, officials, and linesman realize that they are there to enforce the rules, not rewrite them? When they do, please let me know and I will go back and watch the games.

The NBA season is finally over and once again the Los Angeles Lakers are World Champs. Now the talk will really intesify in L.A. regarding the best Laker in history. It really isn’t close, the best Laker in history is Magic Johnson and will probably always be Magic Johnson. Not simply because of what he accomplished in the court but Magic was L.A. and by the way, he resurrected and revolutionized the NBA (I know Erik, along with Larry Bird). Magic’s overall impact is greater than Kobe’s.

But i’m not here to talk about the Lakers championship, I’m here to vent a little. So as I was lounging in the Czech Republic this spring and watching the playoffs at three a.m., I thought of ways to improve the NBA. Here is my 4am list of ways to improve the NBA:

-Call your own fouls, it can’t be any worse than what we witnessed in the Finals. Better yet, go back to two officials and try to keep a flow to the game
-Send the refs to school to actually read the rulebook
-Get rid of neck tattoos
-Send Dwight Howard and every other big man in the league to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the summer
-Outlaw the Paul Pierce offensive flop. The league crackdown on Vlade, it is time to put a stop to Pierce acting
-All players in the league should quit whining like babies and shut up and play
-No more close-ups on players when a foul is committed, the resulting facial expressions are not attractive. So this means for television, no more close-ups because every foul called gets a facial expression
-The Finals for four consecutive years for max viewership: Lakers-Boston or Lakers-Knicks or Lakers-Bulls or Lakers-and what ever team LeBron is on. On the fifth year, any team can make the finals
-LeBron James in New York. Dwyane Wade in Chicago
-More fundamentally adequate players
-Speaking of fundamentals, the game would improve if the mid-range game was seen
-The age limit to enter the NBA should be 21 years old
-Less protective gear; knee pads, elbow pads are okay; full body armor should be restricted
-Actual tough guys; Matt Barnes, Raja Bell, the Nuggets just don’t cut it as enforcers
-Speaking of the Nuggets, two words: laser treatment
-A team in Seattle
-A penalty box
-An actual exciting dunk contest
-Better nicknames
-Get rid of the Dream Team. The NBA would improve if more players coming into the league had Olympic experience
-Mandatory financial planning courses that require completion. Make it like a required A.A. program
-More Andrew Bogut interviews
-Bring in the soccer announcers to call games, honest evaluation and opinions would be heard
-Contraction. Does the NBA really need the Grizzlies, Hornets, Bobcats, Raptors, Pacers, Clippers, Timberwolves, Warriors. if we can’t get rid of all six, combine the Warriors and Clippers and put them in Seattle. The rest would mix and they could stay in Indiana.
-Much, much less Stuart Scott.
-All studio analysis done by TNT and NBA TV or www.sportsnetusa.net.

These are just a few ideas where I think the NBA can improve. If you have any of your own feel free to voice your opinion. By the way, shouldn’t the greatest champion be the won with the most championships?

Every once in a great while if you live long enough, you may see something you have never seen before.  That has happened to me and that is why I am declaring that I have a new favorite major league baseball player.  I am so impressed by his control and his composure.  I have no understanding as to how or why he was able to keep his cool when many around him were losing theirs.  He truly threw a masterpiece and it was something I had never seen before and probably will never see again.  I am not talking about the first major league game pitched by Stephen Strasburg even though he has already moved onto my favorites list.  What is there not to love about Stasburg.  This amazing pitcher was born in San Diego, went to West Hills High School and then to San Diego State to play for Tony Gwynn another favorite of mine.  Strasburg demonstrates cool under pressure beyond my comprehension.  He throws pitches that experts and former players marvel at.  By all accounts he is unassuming and modest as well as unspoiled by success and his own talent.  Despite all of this, and I wish him the best and a long career, he is not my new favorite player.

My new favorite player is a pitcher as well.  He is a righthander and twenty-eight years old.  He probably will not have a Hall of Fame Career and will one day be an answer to a bizarre trivia question long after his name has been forgotten.  I hope I will not forget the name of Armando Galarraga and the fantastic example of sportsmanship he demonstrated.  You all know the story by now he was robbed of pitching a perfect game and going down in the record books.  It is a funny thing that in sports we seldom hear the word sportsmanship any more.  It is about winners and losers and clutch players and chokers.  Often we like to point out more how one team lost a game than how the other team won it.  We like to find out why a team lost more than why a team won.  I understand that all of sports today is a business but I thank Armando for reminding me that there should still be room for sportsmanship in sports. 

Everyone has seen the replay from many angles and umpire Jim Joyce did miss the call.  I would like to say that it was not as obvious as some had said it was.  At first glance it was close but it looked like Galarraga bobbled the ball.  So even though Joyce missed the call it was close.  My favorite part of the replay was the smile on Armando’s face as he stepped off the bag.  He looked at Joyce and smiled as if to say, sir you got this one wrong.  He did not throw a fit or curse and scream and berate Joyce.  He did not rant and rave to the media that he had been screwed and wronged.  He did not lament the fact that Joyce and his call cost him his best shot at history.  He did not cry out for instant replay and to prevent injustice from befalling some other player.  He did not complain about the age of baseball umpires or go to the players union or have the Tigers petition Major League Baseball.  Instead this man said we all make mistakes and that in this case the umpire made a mistake.  He also said in his heart he knew he threw a perfect game.

What!  This is not what we have come to expect from our professional athletes.  A blown call part of the game?  Galarraga said he felt badly for Joyce because the umpire felt bad about his mistake.  What the heck is going on here?  This could have been an all out war between player and umpire.  The unions could have gone at it and it could have been very ugly and nasty with the insults going back and forth.  Instead we have an umpire being man enough to say he blew a call and cost the kid a perfect game and that he was sorry?  An umpire saying he was sorry my gosh please do not tell me that next week Bobby Knight is going to say he was sorry for some of his past actions.  My heart could not take so much sportsmanship.

Galarraga has shown the utmost in class and should be made into an instructional video for all young athletes to view..  He did get a new car out of it and even then he seemed surprised that he would be rewarded for doing and acting the right way.  Armando is 21-18 with a 4.44 ERA in his four year career.  He currently is 2-1 with a 2.67 ERA this season for the Tigers.  On the Detroit website it had stated that the Tigers were thinking about sending Galarraga down to the minors however that was before his more than perfect game.  I hope they do not send my new favorite Major League Person-Pitcher down.  I hope he has a great season and many more and I hope I do not soon forget that there is still room for sportsmanship.  Thank you Armando.

I have been waiting and waiting for all of you Kobe haters to step up.  I guess you are waiting and desperately hoping that the Celtics can wax the Lakers like they did two years ago.  I cannot remember a worse beating in a final game than the one the Celtics gave the Lakers to close it out that year.  After that game there was nothing left to say, the Celtics were the superior team.  To be honest, last year, if Garnett did not get hurt, I was not sure if the Lakers could beat the Celtics.  I am a Laker fan but I like to think that I do have some objectivity.  This series appears to be dead even.  The Lakers have the best player and the best coach.  The Celtics have the better overall team and play the best defense.  If you think about it the Celtics may have five future Hall of Famers.  Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen are all sure Hall of Famers and Rasheed Wallace may end up there as well.  Rajon Rondo if he keeps at the level he  has reached may join them.  For the Lakers it is Kobe and maybe Gasol and that is it.  The Lakers have home court advantage which is a plus.  So to me it is dead even and I think the Lakers will win but I cannot get that last championship game out of my head.

Back to you Kobe haters.  I understand why you may hate the guy but I have a friend that can’t even say that he is one of the greatest players of all time.  You should hear the venom he spews when he even says his name.  Jordan fans go off the board when someone even mentions Michael and Kobe together.  God forbid that anyone should dare utter a negative word about Saint Michael.  Jordan was criticized when he came into the league but once he started winning championships he became untouchable.  His most famous play where he totally pushed off on Byron Russell is roundly lauded as a great play.  Someone please tell me why?  Why was Jordan allowed to get away with so many things?  My old Chicago friends used to say because he is such a great player.  Does that make sense?  You take the greatest player in the game and then let him break the rules and get most of the calls?

I know there are those of you out there who like to think Jordan was perfect and are threatened by what will happen if the Lakers win and Kobe ties Magic with championships and inches closer to Jordan.  You can’t stand that can you?  Last year you were feeling pretty good as everyone thought the MVP LeBron had taken over from Kobe as the best player in the game.  James was supposed to win the title and leave Kobe without ever winning a title without Shaq.  That didn’t work out.  Now, I hear Kobe’s legacy is again on the line as he has never beat the Celtics in a final.  If the Celtics win you can all rejoice and start the hate talk of Bryant.  If the Lakers win then Kobe’s legacy will be on the line as he did not win six like Mike.  I guess it comes down to you can’t explain nor make hatred seem reasonable.  I get you don’t like the guy but to always look for some reason to deny his greatness is pathetic.  I don’t like Rasheed Wallace but I don’t deny that he is a great player.

If you are a Kobe hater then I am sure I will hear from you if the Celtics win.  If the Lakers win then you can look for new ways to deny his greatness as a basketball player.  Either way, I am looking for a great series and will enjoy the great basketball.  Of course there will be those that will say this Laker-Celtic match up is nothing compared to the old days.  How do you fight ghosts of the past like that?

I am tired are you tired?  I am tired of things being said and then repeated so often that people come to accept it as the truth.  Sometimes it may be the truth but so what.  If someone said to me, Randy Routier you are no Mike Lupica or Mitch Albom, well, that is the truth but so what.  So I beg of you if you love the NBA let’s stop looking for the next Michael Jordan.  If you are one of those that does not like the current NBA because there is no Bird, Magic or Jordan, do yourself a favor and get over it!  LeBron is not Jordan and he never will be.  Remember way back when Grant Hill was supposed to be the next Jordan and even Harold Miner, they weren’t.  Kobe Bryant was not the next Jordan either but his basketball greatness only a fool would deny.

LeBron James is not Jordan and that should not take away his greatness.  Jordan won his first NBA championship at the end of his seventh season and LeBron has passed that so many are signaling that he cannot ever be Jordan.  They are right, he can’t be Jordan but to deny his greatness is a joke.  The guy is twenty-five and he may never win a title or he could win seven who knows.  All I know is this guy has the moves of a point guard and the body of a power forward with the passing ability of a point guard.  Throw in the shot blocking ability of a center and on rare occasions the outside shot of a shooting guard.  James in the open court is just a wonder to see.  So if you are one of those guys that is stuck looking for the next Jordan, turn the page and enjoy or even pick up a new book to read.

Something LeBron to look at is, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen and their careers.  It took the three of them on the same team before either of these great players won a championship.  Garnett and Allen won it in season 13 and Pierce won it in his 10th.  For all of his greatness, Garnett got to the Western Conference Finals only one time and many years he and the Timber Wolves were bounced in the first round.  In the beginning of these playoffs I was sad to see Kevin play with that gigantic white wrap around his leg.  He looked like it was all he could do to carry that thing up and down the court.  Suddenly, he is rejuvenated, as are all of the Celtics.  Heck there has even been a Rasheed Wallace sighting.

So LeBron, take heart and I know you don’t need it from me but as long as you are on the court there is time to win one.  When you are finished there will be young players that people will say, he is great but he is not LeBron.  It won’t be fair but I guess it is not fair that you are bigger, stronger and faster than almost anyone on the court.  My only knock on LeBron has been all of that pre-game team posing stuff.  I can’t stand that stuff.  A columnist up here wrote that the Kings were going to make a strong move to get him.  Out of all of the guesses where he will wind up that is the only one that I say there is zero chance of happening.

Where are the Dallas Mavericks?

All right, all right, enough with whether or not LeBron is going to the Clippers or not. Enough about Tiger Woods and everything that has been following him since his accident in November. Enough writing about front offices and coaches…I want to get personal.

I’m a 24-year-old guy who broadcasts high school sports and also co-hosts The High School Sports Zone on sportsnetUSA.net. I enjoy every minute of it, but for a long time, the stereotype (at least one that I’ve heard on multiple occasions) has been that sportscasters broadcast games because they wish they were still playing. I never played organized sports in high school like maybe I should have. If I were given a second opportunity, I would have definitely played basketball and also would have tried my hand in football and baseball, the three major boys sports in the high school realm. I would be lying if I said I didn’t consider this a regret every now and then.

Now why would I reveal this to the masses (or at least those who read these blogs)? Because perhaps reliving, or getting a second chance to try and live the glory days of sports in high school is still within my reach as long as I am willing to pay the price. Of course, I am being sarcastic, but a real story recently came about in Odessa, Texas where a 22-year-old man created a fake identity to re-enter high school and play basketball.

Now, I’ve heard of creating fake driver’s licenses to buy liquor, get into clubs, etc., but never have I heard of someone coming up with a false identity to try and go back in time. Guerdwich Montimere, the 22-year-old who tried this stunt, is now in jail thanks to a ridiculous and embarrassing charge of using a false identity. Using the made-up identity of 16-year-old Jerry Joseph, Montimere led Permian High School in Texas to the District 2-5A State Championships this past season. The former high school star actually came up with a story about being homeless to win over the coaches and other players on the team.

Montimere somehow got through the entire season before getting caught, but it wasn’t without some suspicion. You see, Montimere was originally a standout player at Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and in his senior season, he was listed as a 6′5″ forward who averaged nine points-per-game. Maybe for Montimere, this stat was not sufficient and that is why he decided to come back and try to terrorize competition that was anywhere between four and seven years younger than he was.

According to a report from the Associated Press, suspicions first arose about “Jerry Joseph” when three Florida coaches recognized him at an amateur tournament in Little Rock, Arkansas. He was arrested at Permian High last Tuesday after presenting false identification to a police officer. If convicted, he could actually face six months imprisonment as well as a $2,500 fine.

If there is one thing to applaud about Montimere, it is the fact that he is doing what a lot of us in our mid-20s think about…actually trying to relive the glory days on our high school sports teams (if we played them). However, that being said, if this thought is a serious thing for anyone, try out for a community college team. It should also be noted that this guy must have the most youthful look of any 22-year-old I’ve ever seen because if he was able to successfully pull off 16, I could only imagine how young he’ll look when he’s 50.

The bottom line is that Montimere successfully (at least throughout the season) played a season of high school basketball at age 22 (which brings up a whole other issue on background checking, but that’ll be saved for later). Who knows, maybe if I have an extra $2,500 lying around and am willing to waste six months of my life, I may just shave the goatee and move to Texas.

We have seen this one before haven’t we?  The “Great One” will he come back and take one last shot at a championship.  One of the greatest of all time whom has provided the game with so many great memories.  He is up there in age when other mere mortals have hung it up.  Sports is for the young and the strong.  The old should step aside and give way to the young up and coming stars.  Some ask how can this guy waffle back and forth so much?  This guy has to make a choice and stick with it.  So many people split about his choice.  You may be one that gets tired of hearing about this.  Well relax, this is not about Brett Favre, it is about Pat Riley.  You remember Pat, right.  Hair slicked back, expensive suits and in constant motion on the Lakers sideline….Pure Hollywood.  If ever there was a perfect fit it was Riley, the Lakers and Los Angeles.  Riley helped capture the City and he coached the Lakers to four NBA Titles in the eighties. 

There is talk about Riley coming back to coach the Miami Heat and so far I have not heard much of an uproar.  Where are all of those who rail against Favre?  I am not one of those that believe there should be mandatory retirement however, Pat stay in the front office.

Riley is an all time great coach and it is not even up for debate.  He also helped the Heat win their only championship.  Will someone explain to me why Riley seems to get a pass and always is portrayed as a great winner?  I have friends that think he such a better coach than Phil Jackson?  Please explain that to me.  Is it because Riley was so much fun and the Lakers played such an exciting brand of basketball?  Is it because he helped the Lakers finally get over the Celtics Curse?  I know he likes to prowl the sideline and flail his arms about while Phil just sits there and looks like he may nod off at any minute.  Is that it, Riles looks the part of what we think a coach should look like?  He just looks like he is doing something, like he is really into the game?  Help me understand and lets take a look at the record he has with the Heat.

Here is his record in the last five years with the Heat.  He won the NBA Championship in the 05-06 season and went 41-20.  His first without Magic but he had Wade and Shaq.  The two seasons before they missed the playoffs as they went 36-46 and 25-57.  The year after the title they went 44-38 and lost in the first round of the playoffs.  His last season of coaching they went 15-67 in 2007-2008.  In Pat’s 11 seasons as head coach, the Heat have lost in the first round of the playoffs 5 times, missed the playoffs 3 times, lost in the Conference Finals once, lost in the Conference Semis once and one the one championship.  Is that a great winner?

What is worse is what happened to Stan Van Gundy and may happen to current coach Erik Spoelstra.  Van Gundy took over the team after Riley had gone 25-57 and abruptly resigned but remained team president.  Stan led Miami to a 42 win season with rookie Dwayne Wade and the next year with the addition of Shaq they won 59 games and lost in the Conference Finals.  In his third season the team stumbled to an 11-10 record amid rumblings that Riley was wanting to coach again and that Shaq wanted Riley to coach again.  Riley came down from the front office and the Heat won the NBA title for his fifth championship. Two years later Riley leads them to a 15-67 record and he goes back to the front office and gives the job to young assistant Spoelstra.  From that 15 win season Spoelstra has won 43 and 47 games and been out in the first round of the playoffs.  I would call that remarkable, a fantastic turnaround.

Now Wade is a free agent and so is LeBron and Chris Bosh and here comes the talk that Riley is getting the coaching itch again.  Don’t do it Pat!  Why is it some guys can do ugly things and their image does not tarnish while others get kicked from every direction?  Riley, you are a great coach, prove you are a great team president by staying put.  Sorry LA fans but between Phil and Pat it is not even close.

Welcome to Cleveland Heights, a community featuring charming homes on tree-lined streets, more than 135 acres of beautiful parkland, fine recreational facilities for all ages, excellent educational opportunities, unique neighborhoods, thriving commercial districts and proud, caring neighbors who are involved in a community they love. The added beauty of a lush country setting with an abundance of trees, parks and lakes — including Lake Erie — makes Cleveland Heights a wonderful place to raise a family, build a business or just enjoy the great neighborhoods. The city’s approximately 50,000 residents also enjoy proximity to downtown Cleveland, just a 20-minute drive away, University Circle (Museum of Art, Natural History Museum, Cleveland Orchestra, Music School Settlement, etc…), Cleveland’s cultural center, just to name a few of the area’s highlights. Charming Center Hall Colonial and Victorian style homes, line the heavily wooded communities of Cleveland Heights.

The peaceful community of Chagrin Falls is located along a beautiful 2.1 square mile stretch of land in the northern part of the state, 18 miles southeast of Cleveland. Well-kept houses and charming specialty shops accent the tree-lined streets of this delightful small town. The nearby community of Moreland Hills is a 7.5-square-mile residential suburb located approximately 14 miles east of Cleveland.

Both communities feature a wide variety of lovely homes, many of which are located on large, wooded lots of at least two acres.  Chagrin Falls, Single Family Home, 8 bedrooms, 8 bathrooms, 6,659 sq footage, $2,225,000.  Chagrin Falls, Single Family Home, 8.5 bedrooms, 8.5 bathrooms, 7,100 sq footage, $1,995,000. Chagrin Falls, Single Family Home, 8 bedrooms, 8 bathrooms, 6,272 sq footage, $1,395,000.

MAGIC MATT, RAMIRO, CLIPPER NATION did you read the above? Those homes are in the Cleveland area, not Los Angeles. To get anything close in footage, area and price range you are going to have to move to ???  Ask any of the Lakers where their houses are and how much they spent on them. They do have some great $23,000,000.00 homes in Los Angeles. Strike One.

So, how do you build a sport conglomerate so that everyone in the world wants to be a part of it? One thing you eventually have to do is make it a worldwide spectacle with players from all over the world wanting to come to your backyard to play the game. That has been the NBA’s goal for years, and they have been able to entice players from around the world to play here.

But that was not always the story. For many years, the NBA was a sports organization that was locked like much of the Midwest and eastern region of the United States. In 1947, 1948, 1949 and the early 1950’s the sport and the championships were tied into Philadelphia, Baltimore and Minneapolis. In the early 50’s it was all Minneapolis with Syracuse thrown into the mix. Then the Lakers moved and the championship started to belong to the people of Boston, with the first slugfest of the west coast versus the east coast with the Lakers and the Celtics fighting it out for the NBA title.

The NBA had found the perfect match, sunshine versus bleak winters, laid back versus the lunchbox crew.  The NBA grew, new franchises, expansion, not from just east to west but also from north to south. Over the years of competition, even the Midwest and central became bigger players than many thought they would be.

In expanding that competition, players themselves learned that for the good of the game some would languish their star studded careers in cities that most people never visited in a lifetime, while others would start and continue their careers in the industry and entertainment hubs of America.

The NBA also understood which franchises were the marquee franchises, and when their rating levels dropped so did the ratings of the NBA.  Guys, before you explode, answer me this. How did the Los Angeles Lakers get Wilt Chamberlin, Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Big Shaq Daddy? The way I have had it told to me by the FNM gurus of basketball, these three are in the top four all time centers in the NBA. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it? I am sure we could go on and on about trades and why certain teams get the players and other teams never do.

It is because the NBA watches out for franchises and regions in order to increase national exposure, through television, tournaments and play on a worldwide basis, all to promote the game of basketball. The NBA watches to make sure that the wealth is somewhat spread out through the United States and its regions.

Boston/New York/Syracuse/Miami/Washington/Rochester - East Coast - 22 Championships

Minneapolis/Chicago/Detroit/Milwaukee-Midwest- 15 Championships

Baltimore/Philadelphia (warriors/76ers)/St Louis- Central-6 Championship

San Antonio/Houston-Southwest- 6 Championships

Los Angeles/ Portland/ Seattle-12 Championships

If I missed someone this is as close as I get, and yes there were teams that I could have leaned, but the point is that the NBA has looked for balance so that everyone in a region has had, or will have, those teams that have won Championships.  Bringing me to the point; the NBA has no reason to see a Lebron James leave Cleveland.  Look at the teams from the different regions and look at which teams already have youthful talent and budding superstars in the NBA playoffs.

Why would the NBA look to move the next face of the sports conglomerate to an area that already has the shining face of a superstar? If you were to move your biggest name, then move it to an area that’s struggling (if a team there can afford him). Or leave him where he can do the most good for the NBA, his current home.

If you want to be known as an international organization, first you need to be known as a successful national organization within your own borders.  Are games manipulated?  Are championships preplanned? Can those things be readjusted at will? Yes, because it is a game, played by fallible humans, that on occasion can have an outcome change. It can, but …

Do you love the NFL Draft?  I do and there must be many out there like me.  The National Football League and ESPN have taken their show to prime time hours.  This is another sign that I am old and have no life.  Rounds two and three are on Friday night and I think to myself, perfect.  What could be better than watching this kind of exciting programming.  You have shots of guys on telephones and young guys wearing hats and holding up jerseys.  You also have guys telling me what my team needs and who is the best guy to fill those needs.  Does this kind of excitement get you pumped up?  If it does then you have got problems just like me.  So be it.

I admit the NFL has me hook line and sinker.  My only relief is in knowing that I am not alone.  The NFL schedule came out and it was the sports story of the day!  They do not do this for baseball nor basketball.  For professional football they announce early in the morning that the schedule will be announced later in the day.  I believe the draft means everything and it means absolutely nothing at the same time.  Let me explain.

You can never know if your team has had a good draft or a bad draft.  You may be elated that your squad got your favorite college player or that they have filled a huge need.  You can also be let down because you do not recognize the names nor the colleges some of your guys are coming from.  I would also suggest that you do not put too much stock in what the draft experts say.  Draft and expert are two terms that should not be used together.  Like expert and weatherman should never be used together.  I would say, draft best guesser would be more realistic.  Let’s take a look at some of some draft stories I came across.  There are millions, you may add your own.

We all love the famous stories of Joe Montana being drafted in the third round and Tom Brady being drafted in the sixth.  This illustrates that the draft can mean everything and nothing at the same time.  How could these two guys go that late?  Have you ever seen the pictures of Brady at the combine?  He was very slow running and very skinny.  Not only was he skinny but he did not have a defined muscle in his body.  He was also sporting that Dumb and Dumber haircut that Jim Carey made famous.  A few years later he wins Super Bowls and marries a Super Model.  Who knew.

My friend the Sports Dr. was so excited when the Colts drafted Peyton Manning because then his Chargers could draft Ryan Leaf.  The expert opinion that year was Manning was more polished but Leaf had the larger ” upside”.  Peyton wins a Super Bowl and will hold most passing records and Leaf disappears except on police blotters and biggest draft busts lists.  Many believe him to be the biggest draft bust ever.

In 1995 the 49ers drafted J.J. Stokes out of UCLA to be the heir apparent for Jerry Rice.  I believed Stokes was a can’t miss star as the 10th player taken that year.  Stokes career numbers: 342 catches for 4293 yards and 30 touchdowns.  In that same year there was a tiny receiver out of that football powerhouse Hofstra named Wayne Chrebet.  Chrebet was not even good enough to be drafted at all, not even in the last throwaway round.  He did not even qualify for Mr. Irrelevant status.  His career numbers: 580 catches for 7,365 yards and 41 touchdowns.  You just never know.  Terrell Davis was the 196th player taken that year.  Jamal Duff a defensive end from San Diego State and Foothill High School in Tustin was the 204th player taken by the Giants.  Jamal played a few years  and then went into acting.

My personal favorite draft story that I came across is the Brett Favre draft in 1991.  You see when you get old you forget things and you also just have more experiences so there is just more to remember.  Favre was the 33 player drafted that year out of Southern Miss. even though I had never heard of him.  I had heard of the quarterback drafted in the first round at number 24, Orange County’s very own, Todd Marinovich.  Is that amazing?  All of these years later I did not put those two together.  Todd was out of the NFL after the 1992 season and Brett…well we know that Grandpa Brett is coming back for season 2010.  Marinovich had career numbers of 8 touchdowns, 9 interceptions and 1,345 yards.

The funny thing is the team that drafted Favre, the Falcons traded the future Hall of Famer to Green Bay.  You just never know.  Other quarterbacks taken in that draft:  Dan McGwire( yes one of Mark’s brothers), Browning Nagle, Scott Zolak, David Hollas, Bill Musgrave, Craig Erickson, Pat Justin, Pat O’hara, Shawn Moore, Jeff Bridewell and Larry Wanke.  I am no draft expert but I am predicting there will only be one Hall of Fame quarterback from that years draft.  So I will enjoy the draft and all of the nonsense that goes along with it. I will also try to remember my own words, you just never know.