Second Thoughts: Cleveland, the center of the sports universe


Knucklehead of the Week

Rick Pitino could star in a mob movie and runs his program like a mafia don. In other words, he’s insulated. The NCAA found Louisville guilty of four major rules violations after investigating “impermissable inducements” that included strippers and prostitutes partying with recruits. At least $5,400 changed hands, but Pitino says he had no idea that the kids weren’t studying in the library. Andre McGee, the alleged bag man, took the Fifth, saving Pitino more embarrassment. The NCAA did not hit Louisville with a “lack of institutional control,” but said Pitino failed to monitor his staff. The university plans to dispute that, probably on Pitino’s orders.

I went to Elder-Beerman last week in search of long underwear for the prep football stretch run. Couldn’t find any and bought some men’s “leggings,” which are being marketed as the modern answer to long johns. My daughters talk about leggings, but I still made the purchase. Take 10 points off my man card.

A lot of my co-workers hail from Cleveland, so chances are Wednesday won't be a very productive day here at the ol' newspaper. The Indians host Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday night. That's the same night the Cavaliers open their NBA season and will raise a championship banner.

We can blame this on Bud Selig and the policy that gives home-field advantage in the World Series to the league that wins the All-Star Game. I think we should roll with it. I’m not an Ohio native, but I’m tempted to come down with the sniffles and drive to a Cleveland CVS to buy some medicine.

The Tribe has no interest in letting Charlie Sheen throw out the first pitch before Game 1. I get that they want to honor past stars who were real players, but it would be fun to somehow incorporate Ricky Vaughn into the equation. I'd suggest letting him "deliver" the baseball for the first pitch. Jog in from the bullpen to the sounds of "Wild Thing." Then let someone else toss it to the plate.

It's not an overstatement to say the Bengals face a must-win situation today when the winless Browns — the rare bad team from Cleveland — slink into Cincinnati. A win and the Bengals are 3-4 and likely only 1 game out of first place in the AFC North (Pittsburgh plays New England today). That would give them hope.

A loss means the fan base can get an early start on Christmas shopping. But it would be wise to wait to shop for jerseys because the stores will be all but giving them away in December.

A reader commenting on a story about the drop in NFL television ratings suggested a factor that many people would rather ignore — that the national anthem protests by players are rubbing a lot of fans the wrong way. The displays could be a factor. It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out in the NBA.

Trending up: Ryan Merritt, Nneka Ogwumike, Kyle Schwarber. Merritt's impessive start in Game 5 of the ALCS helped Cleveland eliminate Toronto. An appreciative fan base said 'thank you' to the rookie southpaw by filling out the wedding registry of Merritt and his fiancee Sarah. Pretty cool story.

Trending down: Big 12, Charlie Strong, Glenville. The Big 12, which has 10 schools, voted "no" to expansion last week. I thought BYU would've been a natural choice. Cincinnati made some sense to give West Virginia a natural rivalry. Now the Big 12 will be a big question mark for years to come.

About the Author