What Could Be Better

I am trying to hold on to the last little bit of dignity I have left as a Cleveland sports fan, especially after last night. I was sitting here on my couch watching Game 4 of the Cavs/Magic series biting my fingernails and almost in tears as I watched the last .5 seconds of the 4th quarter and then overtime. Once the game was over it got me thinking about how I would have reacted if I were still living in Ohio compared to Virginia.

Here in Virginia there really isn't anyone who is a die hard Cleveland sports fan, you can find an Ohio State fan and maybe someone who is wearing a Indians, Browns or Cavs shirt but nobody real die hard. I still get very excited though over any of those teams doing anything great, which is rare. Then it triggered the thought of how I reacted Friday night to LeBron's shot. My wife and I were in Washington DC sitting in the hotel bar watching the game, nobody else was really paying attention. All of a sudden LeBron hit the shot and I think I knocked my chair over and yelled as loud as I could, that woke everyone up and they realized what had just happened. I was the only person in that place watching that game, what a tragedy.

I could only imagine what it would have been like at Buffalo Wild Wings (BW3) in Massillon, Ohio after that shot. My screaming and yelling times one hundred and everybody would have ordered another drink and the party would have spilled out into the streets.

I always find it fun watching a game anywhere that there are sports fans and you can enjoy a good banter. Watching the game while enjoying a cold beer and wings is one of the finest things in life no matter if you are home or far away.

The Best Things In Life

Why is it that most of the time a horrible thing will bring something good to mind. You know like when it rains and afterwards there is a rainbow and the flowers are in bloom. The band Filter had a great line from a song "The best things in life aren't for free" and they might be right in saying that. Thinking of that and keeping in mind that I love tradition and baseball something happened Monday that brought back one of the best traditions ever. The singing of "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" is sung at every ballpark across America during the 7th inning stretch but Wrigley Field in Chicago does it the best.

Harry Cary sang it every game with the fans and since his passing they have had many superstars in various careers sing the song. Ozzy Osbourne you could not understand, Jeff Gordon called it Wrigley Stadium instead of Field and Mike Golic of Mike and Mike belted the words louder than anyone. But on Monday, Memorial Day, a true American icon took the stage; Mr. T! Yes THE Mr. T who played Clubber Lang in the Rocky movies and was a part of the A Team Check out the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqXEIwR9tx0

Cleveland

The Sports Illustrated cover jinx is in full swing right now as the Cleveland Cavaliers have lost 2 games to the Orlando Magic, the first 2 games they have lost this post season. In this weeks Sports Illustrated there is a great story by Joe Posnanski about the city of Cleveland and their sports stories. As a die hard Cleveland sports fan myself it is hard for me to believe the SI cover jinx right now because they are just being a Cleveland sports team.

There is a couple that is going through a divorce in the city of Cleveland and the only thing that they are arguing about is who gets the legal right to their son. The judge asks the boy "Do you want to live with your mom?" The son says "No, she beats me to much." The judge then asks "Do you want to live with your dad?" The son states "No, he beats me too." The judge then says "Well who do you want to live with?" The boy states "The Cleveland Browns because they don't beat anyone."

That is just one of the many Cleveland jokes that you can hear around the state of Ohio along with many others, but it is true. The Cavs right now are bringing Cleveland fans back to their roots of getting their hopes built up and then crushing all their dreams. It has been 45 years of frustration since any Cleveland championship. Why has it been so damn difficult for this city to win a championship, well lets take a look at the top 5 heart stopping moments in Cleveland sports history:

5. 1986 AFC Championship Game: "The Drive"- I was 4 years old but still remember this game and just thought to myself what happened.

4. 1987 AFC Championship Game: "The Fumble"- I was 5 years old but remember that Earnest Byner was and is still one of the most loved Browns player ever.

3. 1989 NBA Eastern Conference First Round Game 5: "The Shot"- This was the dagger in all of Cleveland sports fans, especially since Michael Jordan was the one that hit it.

2. 1997 World Series Game 7: The Cleveland Indians were one of the best teams of the mid 90's and they were playing the very young Florida Marlins. Edgar Renteria got a base hit off of Charles Nagy and made it 50 years, now 60 years since a World Series Championship.

1. 2007 ALCS: The Indians were a surprise team that year and had a 3-1 advantage over the Red Sox, at least we had a 3-1 lead instead of 3-0 like the year before.

It is tough being a Cleveland sports fan, but you get used to it, as Leon Bibb said the night of LeBron's shot; "There is always next year."

Strong Man With A Strong Heart

Ever watch The World's Strongest Man competition on ESPN or ESPN2 where they are throwing kegs or pulling buses? You must wonder how they train for these things, I mean who has a keg laying around their house other than college frat guys. I know I have always wondered this but have also wondered if they woke up one day and said "I am going to be the World's Strongest Man."

I was at a conference today for work, an annual conference where we always have interesting speakers. Today was no different, I had the pleasure of listening to Bill Kazmaier speak to a bunch of professionals who try to make a difference in people's lives daily. Oh, who is Bill Kazmaier, well he is a 3 time World's Strongest Man winner and has records in power lifting that may never be matched.

Bill did not talk much about these things, maybe just at the beginning during his introduction which were video clips from years past. Bill discussed with us the message of being positive and how things will get done if you are. He sends this message to kids on a daily basis on top of keeping yourself healthy. You see Bill was always told that he would not mount to more than a hill of beans (exact quote from Bill) and said that he was going to prove those people wrong. He started thinking positive and praying, sure enough he is what he is today. Such a towering figure who you would never think could have such a powerful message could have kept everyone's attention for more than just the 45 minutes that he had.

FORE!

So I played in a golf tournament today and this was the first time I golfed since this tournament last year. I was extremely worried about who I would be playing with since I was paying today, turns out I was partnered with our CEO and two other gentlemen in a best ball tournament. I knew right away that this would be a fun day when one of the other guys said to me "This is only my 2nd time golfing in my life and the first time was 2 weeks ago." The day was fantastic, we finished 5 over par, but had a great time.

Sports, especially golf, is all about relaxing but why is it that golf stresses so many people out. We had a fantastic time talking with each other, teaching each other and making fun of each other. We hit the ball, we missed the ball and I hit a house. We saw the entire course and tore a lot of the course up. We drank a beer, ate some food, drank some water and ate more food. If I could have kept the ball in the fairway I would have won the longest drive contest and then had to putt in a putt off for my CEO in the putting contest. On the 18th hole, which was really the 14th hole we putted 4 times each so that is 16 times total but ended up with a par on the hole.

A day like this really puts into perspective what you should stress over and what you should not stress over. Make time in your life to have fun and not worry so much, stress is meant for those really tough times in life, don't worry how far right you keep hitting the golf ball. If it keeps going right, adjust and make it go straight.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Did you know that the song "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" was written on a subway train in 1908 by Jack Norworth?

Did you know the song was inspired by a sign he saw that read "Baseball Today- Polo Grounds?"

Did you know that his wife Nora Bayes was the first to sing the song and made it popular during vaudeville acts?

Did you know that the gentlemen who set the song to music did not witness their first baseball game 20 years and 32 years later?

Now I am sure you all know that this famous 101 year old song is sung at every Major League Baseball game during the 7th inning stretch, one of the most famous traditions in all sport. I get to sing it this weekend at the Baltimore Orioles vs Washington Nationals game. I know it is not the most glamorous game to attend, but I am excited. There is something about sitting in the stands waiting for that foul ball or home run ball being hit directly to you or waiting to get an autograph from your favorite player or the guy that nobody has ever heard of yet. Eating a hot dog, getting some popcorn knowing that it is summer.

Baseball reminds me of my youth, of the days that I played baseball. I always wonder what it would have been like if I still played, baseball was the one sport that was always fun. 162 games a year just is not enough for me, I need it year round. Baseball is truly the American game, the game that we can all relate to at some point in your life. It is the blue collar worker's game, the sport that is well worth listening on the radio.

Sitting in the stands, watching it on TV or listening to the game on the radio being called by the play by play announcers the same way they did 30 years ago. Baseball, nothing more needs to be said.