Gaymes

Ok, now with the LeBron saga finally over and most fan's feelings turned from heart break to being over it, its time to move on. Right? We'll try. The Tribe is playing better as of late and Brown's training camp starts soon so there are a few things to look forward to as a Cleveland sports fan.

On my way home from work the other night, I was listening to what I would nominate, if ever my opinion was asked, the worst show in the history of sports talk radio. I was ready to try to find a combination of static, deathmetal and folk when I heard a very intriguing pre-break teaser. They were going to discuss a major sporting event that Cleveland was going to be hosting and would bring alot of opportunity to our city.

They had me. I was waiting anxiously during the over the top silly car commercials and throwing out ideas in my head. 2020 Summer Olympiad? 2018 World Cup?Superbowl LV? 2015 Summer X Games? 2011 Bowling championship?(I'm glad I don't know what it's really called) I started to feel like Ralphie Parker waiting for the message using his Ovaltine decoder ring.

They returned and quickly ended the buildup. Unbeknownst to me,(seems like I was one of only a few that didnt know) back in September of '09 Cleveland, Ohio was awarded the 2014 Gay Games (huh?) beating out Boston and Washington D.C.. I had no idea there was such a thing. I was just happy that we finally beat Boston at something. After a little research, I found that there are 12,000 participants in the games, which is more than the Olympics and It could bring anywhere from $50m to $80m to the local economy and great exposure for travel and tourism to Cleveland. Then I thought, are we ready for this?

The Games have previously been held in cities such as Vancouver, Amsterdam, Sydney, Chicago, San Francisco and this year they are being held in Cologne, Germany. Im sure they all have their issues, but this is Cleveland. Chicago dyes their river green for St. Patricks Day, our river may still spontaneously combust at any moment. Vancouver's nickname is "Hollywood north", ours is "the mistake on the lake", you get it. We are the ugly duckling in this for sure.

This is not the announcement that I thought they were going to make. I'm disappointed its not something that has to do with one of the four, five, eight or even ten major sports we have in this country. Either way, Cleveland has a chance to shine on a pretty big stage. Hopefully, Byner won't carry, Ehlo wont defend and Elway sits this one out. We could really use the boost, but not so fast.

Boston, fackin Bawston, has cried foul. The city officials vying for the games to be held there claim that Cleveland has broken many of the rules that would make it possible to host including: the maximum number of sports allowed is 28 and Cleveland has applied for 40. Also, all venues are to be within a max of 15 miles of city limits (golf would be held in Akron, home of the traitor) which is 45 miles away. So, not only do the Celts and the Sox get the best of us, now the city officials are getting at us as well. The decision to allow Cleveland to host is now under review and could possibly be overtrurned and granted to Boston. Of course. Why would we get the chance for good exposure?

As much as Cleveland could really benefit from hosting these games, it seems like our sports curse cannot be lifted. We'll have to wait and see. At least the Cavs two draft picks and Vitaly Potapenko are dominating the Summer league, Tim Couch is in great shape and Jose Mesa is throwing a wicked 12 to 6 in Columbus.