Cleveland's League Park will rise again!

Before there was Jacobs Field... Before there was Cleveland Stadium... there was League Park. This was the home of the Cleveland Indians for an entire generation, a neighborhood ballpark on the city's east side. The place where the Tribe won the 1920 World Series. The place where Babe Ruth hit his 500th home run.

Today nothing is left but a rundown building which used to house the ticket office, a vacant field and a marker. (Yes we did check it all out on one of our USRTs to Cleveland after all that is what we do.)

But exciting news out of Cleveland! Funds are being raised to replace the field in its original location, build a replica outfield wall, restore the remaining facade and add 2500 seats, which would then be used for youth baseball, high schools and community events.

More from the Akron Beacon Journal.

Blogging from the pressbox - a reporter gets tossed

Here's an interesting piece in today's Louisville Courier-Journal.

It seems that one of their sports reporters, a gentleman named Brian Bennett, was tossed out of the pressbox in the middle of a college baseball game. Bennett's trangression? He was doing live blog reports of the game, and the NCAA states that is a "clear violation of its policies."

The paper is not going down quietly, arguing that such a rule ignores first amendment rights. The NCAA, on the other hand, wants to protect the media outlet who pays the fees for live broadcasts of the game.

WHo is right? Who is wrong? One thing is for certain - this medium is changing the way we report sports, discuss sports and analyze sports, and the changes are happening at a dizzying pace.

What happens in the Louisville case will certainly bear watching for all of us who cover sports and do blogging.

Golfing at Diamond Hawk - Cheektowaga's new jewel

We've been wanting to try out the newest golf course to hit the Buffalo area since they opened the back nine last fall. So with my dad and my brother in town, Andrew arranging for the VIP invitation, we were off for a day of golfing at Diamond Hawk.

Now fully open for business, this golf course is still a well kept secret, nestled next to an office/industrial park in the northeast end of town. To get there you have to pass the airport via Genesee Street, turn right on Sonwil Drive and you will see it on your left.

Any preconceptions you have about "Cheektovegas" and its alleged pink flamingoes and bowling alleys goes right out the window as soon you get here - the facilities are first class and opulent, the clubhouse and dining room almost swank; everything done with a flair.

Since my dad is an avid golfer and my brother John is right behind him, we asked them for a critique of the course after our rounds, as we enjoyed a post golf meal in the Diamond Hawk clubhouse restaurant. My dad replied, "This is nothing like your typical municipal golf course or some par 3 facility. This is a really difficult and challenging course to play."

Continuing on, "With the tight fairways, plenty of bunkers and such, your shot off the tee has to be a good one or else you're in real trouble right away. Then there are the greens - they are massive and spacious and that makes things a real adventure on the putt."

John made note of the quality of the course, now in only its first full year of operation. "The course is in great shape for being so new. The lawns look mature and the attention to maintenance is superb."

In addition to the quantity of bunkers, sand traps and other hazards, the roughs here are, well, rough. "It's easy to lose balls here" said Dad. "The roughs are especially thick and high to add to the challenge."

The course itself winds through a number of housing subdivisions, is adjacent to a municipal park and an office park, and the airport control tower is easily visible from a distance. But pay special attention to the 16th and 17th holes - they pass through an actual environmentally protected wetland, with water hazards, thick reeds and dense foliage. It is the coolest and most unique feature here at Diamond Hawk.

While we were golfing, Andrew, who was a Cheektowaga Councilman when the bond issue was executed to buy the land for this course back in the early 90s, gave us a historical background of all the difficulties and false starts that happened before the dream of a Cheektowaga golf course finally happened. He was beaming with pride all afternoon long. "This place is so awesome. Another superb amenity here in our great town."

Our special thanks to proprietor Sam Tadio for hosting us today. Suffice to say we will be back. Oh, and check out the Diamond Hawk website for everything you need to know about the place.

The Riches say farewell to Wichita

Last year around this time Rich Baseball Group, owners of the Buffalo Bisons and two other minor league teams dropped the bombshell that they were moving their AA baseball team, the Wichita Wranglers, to a new ballpark and a better deal in Springdale, Arkansas.

We did a story on this last topic last July in our Artvoice baseball column "Play Ball". My recollection of preparing that story was that nobody at the Bisons wanted to talk to us about it, which I found a bit amusing since normally when we contact Brad Bisbing at the Bisons seeking an interview or information, he is more than happy to oblige and assist.

Anyways, as part of the deal, the Riches agreed to leave intact a highly popular baseball tournament in Wichita called the National Baseball Congress. In fact, it was this provision that quelled the leaders of Wichita and prevented them kicking up the dust about losing their AA team.

Looks now like the City of Wichita is going to buy the National Baseball Congress from the Riches, insuring that the event remains in their city. Once this deal is completed, and the curtain descends on the Wranglers' 2007 season, it will spell the end of Rich Baseball's association with Wichita, Kansas.

More from the Wichita Eagle.

LeBron and Co.......Meet the Borg

Some random NBA stuff from the past couple of days....

First off, let me thank Lebron James for his Jordanesque effort in the ECF Game 5. And while I'm at it, hats off to Boobie Gibson for his play in the fourth quarter of Game 6 and for giving millions of sports fans the ability to say "Boobie" without being accused of having their mind in the gutter.

The respective efforts of these two are the biggest reason why people(like me) will actually be turning on the TV during this year's Finals rather than be subjected to another Pistons/Spurs borefest.

Now Cleveland gets to face its toughest team yet in the Borg....err...Spurs.

I call them the Borg since they are just so methodical in their style and also don't have much flash, no real personalities that you just wish to latch onto. Just a basketball team that has been the NBA's best over the past decade that is searching for their fourth ring since '99.

If Game 1 is any indication, this is highly likely to happen. In that game, Tony Parker was too quick to the hoop with 27 points. The Spurs got way too many second chances off the boards against a team that prides itself in rebounding department. And Timmy was....well....Timmy.

And oh yeah, did I mention LeBron not hitting an FG 'til halfway through the third??? That isn't going to get it done for the Cavs.

Nice run to the Finals Cleveland, but the reality is the Cavs took advantage of an ultra weak Eastern Conference and needed some amazing performances in Games 5 and 6 of the ECF to reach the Finals and now face a veteran club that is basically the Patriots of the NBA. The Cavs did sweep the season series with the Spurs and frankly this series will still go a long way, the distance I think.

But the ending will remain the same. A Larry O'Brien trophy at the Alamo....again.

This is a joke, right????

Apparently not, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal which reports that the NHL is going to expand to Las Vegas and Kansas City in the coming years.

Movie mogul Jerry Bruckheimer is looking into heading up a potential Vegas franchise, and with the Anschutz Entertainment Group(LA Kings, Galxy, Chicago Fire and more) behind the efforts in Kansas City it is only a matter of time before this becomes a reality.

Admittedly, that may be 4-5 years away though. So says this report found on TSN.

Dear Gary Bettman:

ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!!!!!

You've got more interest in the sport of hockey in places like Cairo and Calcutta than you do in these two NHL hellholes. Neither city has been able to support the sport for long periods of time regardless of level of competition.

If you really have to expand to two more places, let me help you out. I'll even give you a non traditional market that makes a shred of sense...

1. Winnipeg: passionate fan base that will fill the joint on a nightly basis in their new MTS Centre. They've been banging the drum for another NHL club almost since the Jets left a decade ago. What's the matter? Don't you want your product in a city where it is actually desired??

2. Houston: Another brand new venue in the Toyota Center, and you know what? They have a strong and continous tradition of hockey going back decades.

Gary, I know you came to the job without knowing a shred of hockey back in the mid nineties, but way back in the seventies there was this rival pro league known as the WHA that had a team in Houston.

Did you know they were pretty darned good too? Had this player...Howe...Gordie Howe. Guy was so old that he had his sons on the team with him as well. Won the Avco Cup twice. Even applied to be part of the NHL merger back then. Hopefully you also know there's current IHL/AHL version that's been around for the last fifteen years or so as well.

C'mon Gary, I'm giving you two slam dunks here. Two cities that are known hockey markets and in Houston a large media market with loads of money to insure success. And heck, Stars v. Aeros...instant rivalry!!!!

There you go Gary, I'm just some silly blogger. But my proposal sure make more sense than yours.

"just another day in SoCal"

So said Jim Rome today, as he was doing his reset on last night's Stanley Cup clinching game by the Anaheim Ducks.

Was it me, or did the crowd enthusiasm and joy resemble something like... the Buffalo Bandits winning the Champions Cup (1996). Or... the Buffalo Bisons clinching the Governors Cup on home field (2004). Sure it was great. Sure it was fun. We all cheered, they played Queen, the players paraded around wth their trophy, and we all went home.

I watched much of the game, and imagined what it would have been like if this had been Buffalo, running away with game 5 and poised to clinch the Cup themselves. The crowd would have been on their feet with 10 minutes to go... the noise would have been deafening... the crescendo would have built louder and louder and louder... As the game ended people would have been hugging, grown men would have been weeping. It would have been a moment that our city had never experienced. This entire community would have exploded in utter joy and jubilation.

And the same would have been true in Ottawa... heck it would have been a national holiday all across Canada today.

But in SoCal, it was just another day.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman came across as a stupid whiney simp on the ice, pandering to the SoCal crowd and doing a lousy job at it. His awkward handoff of the Stanley Cup to Scott Niedermayer looked awful.

And did I see the Ducks unfurl their championship banner in the rafters as soon as the game ended? So much for tradition and ceremony and a formal banner raising event in the fall.

This might sound like sour grapes, but I couldn't care less about anybody with a "Buffalo connection" and how happy they are. But that won't stop everyone in the media around here from running over to the Marchants this summer to get a glimpse of the Cup and the obligatory sound bites of how proud the parents are and grinning neighbors up in Clarence or wherever saying how cool it is that the Cup is on the street. Please spare me!

And no, I am not happy for Brad May... I always regarded him as a borderline psychopath, especially since the time he broke Derek Plante's nose (deliberately) the season after he left Buffalo. I mean, how do you do that to an ex-teammate who you played alongside with and showered with and traveled with. I think he is a few pieces of chicken short of a picnic basket.

Another day in SoCal... yet how sad that in places in Buffalo, other peer hockey markets that are equally as rabid, and wannabe NHL cities the moment would have meant so much more.

2012 Olympics Logo

Time to dust off this letter...

"Dear Fans,

Please refrain from making your final judgment on the logo until you see how the whole thing looks.

Sincerely,
Larry Quinn"

More from the UK Telegraph. Oh and by the way... the cost for this mess? $800,000!

Outdoor NHL hockey coming next season

Remember the Heritage Classic? On November 22, 2003, the Edmonton Oilers faced off outdoors against the Mongtreal Canadiens in Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium, in what became the largest attended game in NHL history. What was not expected was the bitter cold temperatures, with wind chills approaching -22F.

Apparently the NHL is set to do it all over again next season, with details yet to be announced. Rumors have it that an American based team will be involved, and the game will be telecast on NBC as part of its game schedule. Teams, venue and date will be released at a later date.

So I am thinking... Buffalo v Toronto at the Ralph? Would this not be an epic event? Would all of Buffalo and all of Toronto not turn out for such a spectacle? Chime in with your thoughts...

The Chinese on baseball: "It's like a sport for nobility"

In Beijing they are busy building and prepping Wikesong Baseball Field, which will be the host venue for baseball in the 2008 Olympic Games.

Then incredibly, as this article in the Globe and Mail points out, they will be demolishing this perfectly fine and beautiful baseball park once the Games are over, to build a shopping mall no less. While the NBA has Chinese folks rabidly excited, apparently one can't say the same about baseball over there.