I spent Saturday afternoon watching the FIFA World Cup preliminary draw play out, and it occurred to me that as much of a soccer fan as I am, I had really not seen a World Cup all the way through.

What I mean by that is truly keeping tabs on the preliminary rounds all the way to the final 32-team field and the actual World Cup. Sure, the United States' rout of (insert unfortunate much smaller CONCACAF foe here) would grab my attention in the early portion of the cycle, but not a whole lot beyond that at that juncture.

This time is going to be different.

I'm motivated to really know what the world has to offer - big country, small country, good FIFA world ranking, bad FIFA world ranking.

We have a while to wait until the next World Cup - slightly less than three years to be exact. But I'm going to try to research as many teams and as many early-round matchups as I can and slowly but surely predict what the future might hold in the months ahead.

Bold, yes. Ambitious, yes. Crazy, yes.

But let's give it a shot, starting in Africa with a Seychelles-Kenya first-round home and home.

I probably won't make it to Brazil in 2014, but at least I can be prepared to fully enjoy the tournament every step of the way no matter where I'll be.

- Chris Lillstrung

Things I miss about being a young sports fan back in the day (the late 1970s and 80s):

10. Herb Score (RIP) calling Tribe games on the radio.

9. Breaking in a baseball glove.

8. Larry Bird, World B. Free, Magic Johnson and Bernard King.

7. George Brett's sweet swing.

6. The bleachers at old Municipal Stadium.

5. Nev Chandler (RIP) calling Browns games on the radio.

4. Pickup football games at the park.

3. The sound of aluminum bat on ball.

2. Bo Jackson, the best athlete ever I've ever seen.

1. "This Week in Baseball" hosted by Mel Allen

When we visit area high school football camps to take player pictures, I have a request for those who step in front of the camera: Smile. Look like you're enjoying life.

Based on every player head shot taken going back to the beginning of football, this won't happen. Maybe one player on each team will make his dentist proud. Maybe one. And he'll probably get flack from his teammates for it.

The rest won't smile, and never will. Even if we tell them, "You're going to look back on this in 10 years and say to yourself, 'Man, I was trying be intimidating, but I look like a dork,' " they still won't do it.

Why don't football players smile? Because they're football players. Tough, physical football players. Football players don't smile. It's a sign of weakness, apparently.

The act of trying to look tough doesn't always pay off. Many times, a player will puff up his chest, jut his chin out and put on his best mean face. The result, unfortunately, is that he looks like he has a bitter-tasting lemon wedge stuck in his mouth.

Players who do smile appear to be self-confident, ready for the season and possessing a positive outlook on life - as if their lemonade couldn't have tasted better.

So that's my plea to area high school football players in the coming weeks. When the camera turns its lens on you, say cheese.

- Howard Primer

My career at The News-Herald is now past the 15-year mark, and one of the most interesting sports stories I've come across is that of Euclid graduate Mike Preston.

I will never forget when Preston, who starred at Division III Heidelberg, began to emerge as a sophomore at the tiny college in Tiffin.

"Have any of you ever heard of Mike Preston?," I would ask my co-workers in the sports department.

Blank stares and shoulder shrugs were the norm, even from our high school football writer Bill Tilton. Preston was a mystery, and here's why:

As a freshman, he was a 5-foot-4 wannabe receiver for the Panthers, and never made a name for himself in high school as a football player. Eight years later, and one huge growth spurt since, he's 6-foot-4, made All-American as a college senior and this week signed an undrafted free-agent contract with the Titans.

Great kid, great story and what an opportunity in front of him. The Titans need wide receivers so the opportunity is there for Preston.

Let's see if he can take it.

- Mark Podolski

If you are looking for some summer fun, why not check out your local public pool?
Especially with the hot days we've had over the past few weeks, nothing beats jumping in a cool pool on a hot, sunny day.
The other day, I went to Euclid Memorial Pool which is about one mile from my house.
It was awesome.
It is highly under-used by the community in my opinion.
The Olympic-sized pool has adult lap lanes which I fully take advantage of. It also has roped off deep areas and shallow zones.
Swimming laps is a nice way to get a workout in despite the heat. It beats jogging and sweating on a sweltering day or even biking.
Plus, swimming is a good overall workout.
A few days after my first visit to the pool, I brought my friend and her two kids. They had a blast going down the big slide at Memorial and playing in the kiddie area which has huge water displays.
Going to the pool brings back fond memories for me of working as a lifeguard during high school and college.
What a great job it was to soak in the sun, take a dip every now and then and eat snow cones all day.
Oh yeah, a little work was involved like keeping people safe, teaching swimming lessons and telling kids not to run on the concrete around the pool.
Boy do I miss those days.
If I ever want to remember what it was like to be a kid again, all I have to do is go to the pool.
Nothing beats it.

-Theresa Neuhoff Audia

Wow.

No way I could have expected the reaction to the first-ever Chalk Talk Chow Down. The inaugural News-Herald High School Football Hot Dog Eating Contest was an unbelievable success. The Hooley House was packed, people stacked from table to table and from every inch of the restaurant trying to sneak a peek at the event.

Tom Strobel and Ben Yanosko from Mentor narrowly defeated teams from Riverside and North by eating 19 hot dogs in 7 minutes.

The vibe was great, the crowd was ridiculous, and the energy leads us to wanting to do another contest very, very soon. Tune back in Aug. 15 for the preview NH Chalk Talk show at Hooley House.

Better seating will be available, presumably, but who knows?

Get there early.

A special shout out to Alex Harmon from Riverside, who just had four wisdom teeth removed a week ago, but battled to help the Beavers team earn a runner-up finish. A true gamer.

Great night, great crowd, great that nobody got sick.

Nice, all the way around.

Hot dog.

- BTilton@News-Herald.com

There are a lot of things to do in Atlanta, in which I spent some time recently on vacation.

One may be a little underrated because not enough people may be aware of it, but it's definitely worth a trip for any Olympic fan if you happen to be in the heart of Georgia.

In the Buckhead section on the north end of the city lies the Atlanta History Center. As part of a multi-faceted facility is the Centennial Olympic Games Museum, celebrating Atlanta hosting the 1996 Summer Games.

The museum is one of the largest Olympic collections of its kind in the world.

When you enter, an impressive row on the right showcases torches and medals for every Olympic Games staged since its inception in 1896. It's hard to fathom the history in front of you.

The opposite side is devoted to Atlanta's efforts to secure the Olympics. It tells the story of a local businessman whose dream was to bring the Games to Atlanta, despite having never traveled abroad let alone attended an Olympics.

The floor is a track that guides you around to more exhibits, including one for each day of the Atlanta Games.

At the end, as one of the hands-on parts of the experience, attendees can stand on an Olympic podium.

(And yes for the record I did stand on the podium, playing the role of tourist perfectly. Besides, let's be honest - that's the closest I'll ever get to being an Olympic gold medalist.)

Here is a sample of what I saw:



So if you're ever in Atlanta, I highly recommend seeking this out if you're a fan of the Olympics. It's well worth the effort.

- Chris Lillstrung

The news of the day on Friday from the NCAA should have been cause for a party within the athlete department at Ohio State.

The NCAA notified the school it found no evidence the school failed to properly monitor its football program or evidence of a lack of institutional control.

Apparently, having its coach lie to NCAA and cover up illegal action, at least in the eyes of the NCAA, of its high-profile football players does not constitute failure to monitor or lack of institutional control.

Congrats to the Ohio State athletic department. It's obvious getting rid of Coach Jim Tressel is all it took. Terrelle Pryor leaving probably didn't hurt either.

As for the NCAA? Let's see if the governing body hammers the Buckeyes with its upcoming ruling. Friday's news probably means it won't be as bad as many thought, but who knows. The NCAA continue to confuse.

- Mark Podolsi

According to the Waiting For Next Year blog, a sports talk radio format might pop up in Cleveland, and it would take the place of rock music on WKRK-FM 92.3.

That's just what we need, more sports talk. Even though I'm a copy editor in the sports department of The N-H, I don't listen to sports talk. When I'm done with work for the day, the last thing I want to hear is sports analysis. The only time I listen is when I'm in someone else's car.

The station I listen to most is 92.3. It has a great mix of alt-rock from the last 20 years and current hits. For my tastes, anyway, it's nice to have a station that's playing a song I want to hear almost every time I turn it on.

If the powers that be decide Cleveland needs an FM sports talk station, please put it somewhere else.

- Howard Primer

This is why I'm siding with the players as the NFL labor mess continues:

NFL players, in one respect, are like you and I. At any time, they can be fired from their job, let go, relieved of their duties, whatever you want to call it, when their employer doesn't feel they can't get the job done.

Considering the damage done to their bodies during their playing career, NFL players, more than any other pro sport, deserve more, and they're apparently fighting for more with NFL owners. I have no problem with that whatsoever.

Keep negotiating and forget about deadlines. My feeling is the owners are giving the NFLPA a Tuesday deadline to agree to their collective bargaining agreement because they want desperately to put on their four-game exhibition season to guarantee money at the gate and the concession stand.

Hopefully, the players won't budge, but at some point, those with the most money - the owners - will probably win out in the end.

Still, I'll be rooting for the players until the end.

- Makr Podolski

My first bike was pulled out of the trash by my grandpa when I was a little kid.
He put new wheels on it and spray painted it army green.
It was awesome.
I learned how to ride on that bike.
Eventually, I graduated to a red banana-set beauty around third grade. My younger sister got an Evil Knievel bike that same Christmas. In the spring, we rode around our neighborhood playing "CHiPs." I was always Ponch and my sister was John. It was a great time.
Years later, I'm having a great time on my fancy new Jamis bike that I bought at Blue Sky Bicycles on 185th in Euclid.
I've been biking for years, but I've never owned an expensive bike like the one I have now. It has made such a difference.
To learn more about biking in Northeastern, Ohio, I contacted the Cleveland Touring Club. They invited me on a ride with them tonight at North Chagrin Reservation.
I'm riding in the "social" group which will be a good starting point for me.
It will be fun to meet new people on the ride and hear their stories about riding. I'm also looking forward to learning a few biking tips.
If you have a biking tip for me, I'd love to hear it. Please e-mail me at taudia@news-herald.com.
Have fun riding.

-Theresa Neuhoff Audia

New territory will once again be explored on July 25 as we are hosting the first-ever News-Herald High School Football Hot Dog Eating Contest as part of a special "NH Chalk Talk" from 8-9 p.m. at Hooley House.

This isn't exactly the same tension I felt leading into the inaugural NH Senior Bowl on June 25, but there is plenty of uncertainty. What is clear, however, is that the contest has gotten great response and support and I hope high school football fans and fans of competitive eating come out between 8-9 p.m. next Monday night for the show.

We have nine two-person teams from area high schools confirmed as competitors - the latest addition being Riverside - and two special teams to round the field to 11. Hooley House is entering an employee team to challenge the local crews, and one special NH Chalk Talk listener team is also entered.

This should be interesting to say the least, and it is a nice bridge for high school football fans until we do our preview show on Aug. 15.

It's only 5 minutes, so there shouldn't be enough time for the players to get sick. Just good competitive eating and a celebration of National Hot Dog Month.

Pass the mustard.

- Bill Tilton

If you watch television as an escape from the issues of real life, then "Friday Night Lights" was probably a tough sell for you. That it appeared to be a teen drama about football didn't help.

It had trouble catching on from its debut in October 2006, partly because of the ultra-serious tone, but for other reasons. At first, it was aired against shows like "Dancing with the Stars" and "American Idol." Then, after it found a permanent home on Friday night (imagine that), it couldn't get rid of the label of being a football show.

The series finale airs tonight on NBC. It aired in February on DirecTV as part of a funding partnership, but for 'FNL' fans, this is the real goodbye.

It wasn't a football show. It wasn't a teen drama, either. It was a drama, period. Looking back, I wonder if the people who ran the show would have done their marketing pictures and videos with the characters in football uniforms at all.

It wasn't the kind of show you could have on while you were working around the house and then settle in for the last 15 minutes. You had to dig in because the most telling moments came in the ways the characters expressed their emotions, not just through the dialogue or plot points. They had a way of grabbing you and pulling you in, like, well, a linebacker.

Football wasn't why people tuned in. One of the few knocks against the show was that the games had too many dramatic finishes. Teams don't have last-second victories every week, but the Dillon Panthers did.

In the first three seasons, it seemed as if Coach Eric Taylor had three entries in his playbook:

1) Smash Williams runs for a touchdown.
2) Tim Riggins runs for a touchdown.
3) Matt Saracen scrambles and throws a long TD pass as time runs out.

For the East Dillon Lions in the the fourth and fifth seasons, their main play was for some combination of Taylor, QB Vince Howard and Luke Cafferty to argue about something, then one of them would miraculously win the game while coach throws his head back in bewilderment.

Those are quibbles, though, because 'FNL' made up for it in so many other places. Some of my favorites:

- The give and take between the Taylors, Eric and Tami. ("Eighteen years.")
- When Buddy Garrity would get himself into a pickle.
- Tim Riggins celebrating a victory by drinking a beer on the tailgate of his truck in the school parking lot.
- Saracen being the steadying hand for Julie Taylor (I haven't watched the finale yet, I'm holding out hope he sets her straight).
- When Smash's mom found his stash of steroids.
- The McCoys (except for the child-abuse angle). I'm still hoping J.D. shows up as the quarterback of East Dillon's opponent in the state final.
- When Saracen wants to see his dad one last time. And when he slams the door in Joe McCoy's face.
- Eric to Saracen: "That's my daughter!"
- The last scene of Season 3.
- Minka Kelly
- Wind sprints in the rain.
- Riggins leaving his shoes on the field.
- Smash walking on at Texas A&M.
- "Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose" and "Texas forever"

- Howard Primer

On Saturday, I'll be interviewing Mentor grad and Pitt kicker Kevin Harper, who will be in town following a week of workouts with the Panthers, for a future story in the sports section and online.

Harper will be Pitt's kicker this fall. He's an excellent place kicker, and owns the Ohio high school record with Mayfield's Carey Spear with a 61-yard field goal. Harper knows how to kick a football.

Now, we'll see if he can teach two guys how to kick a football. News-Herald staff writer Bill Tilton and myself will take some pointers from Harper at Mentor's football stadium and see if we can take that advice and actually boot the football through the uprights.

I have a feeling kicking a field goal is much more difficult than it looks, and that's not to say I think being a place kicker is easy. Not one bit.

Hopefully, Bill and I won't embarrass ourselves. Check back to our Web site early next week for a recap of the day's experience, good or bad.

- Mark Podolski

In case you are wondering, there is still time to sign up for the Johnnycake Jog on Sunday.
The 35th annual Jog will be held at 8:30 a.m. at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Painesville Township.
Runners will compete on a five-mile course. Walkers will cover 3.1 miles.
If you've already signed up for the Jog, you can pick up your race materials (bibs, T-shirts, electronic chips for recording times) from noon to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday at The News-Herald, 7085 Mentor Avenue, Willoughby. If you haven't signed up yet, you can do so on Thursday and Friday.
Registration will also be accepted on race day at the Fairgrounds.
Anyone who signs up before Friday at 7 p.m. will pay $15 for the run. The fee on race day is $20. The walk is $10 before 7 p.m. Friday and $15 on race day. The cost for children is $5.
Thanks for your support.

-Theresa Neuhoff Audia

By agreeing to play for Cantu, an Italian team in the European Basketball League, former Ohio State standout David Lighty made the smartest of moves.

In fact, one could argue Lighty is better off now than if he had been selected in the recent NBA Draft.

Now, at least he will be playing.

Let's look at it this way - if Lighty had been drafted, he would be sitting for as long as this current NBA lockout exists. Everything points to that being a long time.

It's possible the lockout could wipe out the entire 2011-12 season, that's how far apart the sides are from getting this labor dispute settled.

If Lighty had been selected in the second round of this year's draft, or simply chose to sign a free-agent contract with someone when the lockout ends, he would be be at a disadvantage when the NBA finally gets back on the court. He would potentially be going into a training camp with this year's first-rounders AND next year's first-rounders (if the lockout goes that long).

A second-round draft pick who hasn't played competitively in two years - or a free agent who hasn't done so - going into a training camp with two years worth of first-round draft picks just doesn't stand much of a chance.

Lighty did the right thing.

While this year's (and may next's) are sitting on their hands waiting for the lockout to end, Lighty will be in Europe playing basketball, honing his skills and probably adding a portion of the European game to his repetoire that could benefit him greatly in the future.

By playing in Europe, not only is Lighty making money, but he is also improving a resume that apparently wasn't strong enough to get him drafted.

Lighty tweeted recently that he WILL play in the NBA someday. His choice to play in Europe during this nasty NBA lockout betters those chances exponentially.

- John Kampf

At first, the NFL lockout didn't bother me because I figured it would get resolved quickly as soon as a bunch of spoiled billionaires and a bunch of spoiled millionaires came to a spoiled conclusion.

Now, I am worried.

Not because of what it will do to the "shield," but what we all do during the fall?

By "all" I mean us and I mean those of us that play fantasy football? Should we go to fantasy postseason baseball? Should we go to fantasy NASCAR and golf at the end of those seasons? Should we track down fantasy tennis, lacrosse or soccer numbers?

I know there are plenty of folks in Vegas and all points in between both coasts who do nothing more than worry about gambling on Sundays and Monday nights, but the legal public would like to know what we are going to do on weekends in September if there is no NFL?

Make it happen - grow up and work it out.

The game is bigger than the owners and the players and ... ahem ... bigger than fantasy football. Let's just get back on the field and satisfy hundreds of millions of fans already.

Is it that much to ask of a bunch of financially stable human beings arguing over what amounts to table scraps? Hard to feel bad for either side.

- BTilton@News-Herald.com

Part of the sham of college athletics is that vacating games somehow constitutes a penalty.

Memphis' appearance in the national title game in basketball in 2008? Didn't happen. This run by Reggie Bush? Don't know what game that clip came from.

Declaring appearances as vacant is window-dressing. If you don't want to penalize the players on the current team, then schedule the scholarship reductions and bowl bans for two years from now. That way, innocent players have time to transfer before the sanctions take effect. It also gives incoming recruits a chance to stay away.

- Howard Primer

The Indians' catchy slogan this season is "What If?"

As in, "What if the Indians actually make the playoffs, win the pennant and win the World Series?"

What if indeed. It is difficult to imagine the Tribe winning the World Series, but why not shoot for the moon?

The All-Star break is fast approaching and the Indians are in it for the long haul in 2011, so jump on board fast because there is plenty to like.

The bullpen has been outstanding, the starting pitching solid and the hitting has been timely in plenty of spots. There are questions about the offense as a whole that need to be answered in the second half.

What if Grady Sizemore finds his groove? What if Travis Hafner stays healthy? What if Carlos Santana becomes more consistent?

We'll find out more in the second half, but for now, enjoy the ride Tribe fans. The first half has been completely unexpected, which is why we're all asking ourselves one simple question:

"What if?"

In Thursday's paper, there is a feature story on longtime Cleveland television sports anchor John Telich.
I was honored to interview Telich for the story.
Leading up to the interview, I had several people tell me what a great guy he was including Sports Editor Mark Podolski who works out at the same gym as Telich.
"He's one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet," Podolski said.
Boy, was he right.
Telich was kind from the moment I met him to the moment he walked me out of the Fox 8 studios. He took the time to give me a tour of the studio and he took the time to answer every one of my questions.
The interview lasted over an hour. I think if I had two-hours worth of questions, Telich wouldn't of had a problem answering all of them.
He truly is one of the kindest people I have ever met.
That was confirmed when I called his former colleagues Dan Coughlin and Tony Rizzo for the story. The former WJW television sports anchors couldn't say enough about how Telich has touched their lives in many positive ways.
I would have to agree.
Telich has a work ethic that is to be admired. He has put his heart and soul into his work at Fox 8 over the past 31 years and it shows.
The longest tenured sports anchor in Cleveland history is still around because of the way he treats people. He treats them with respect and in turn he's earned the respect of many.
Cleveland is lucky to have such a treasure.



-Theresa Neuhoff Audia

Moments before the July 4 Hot Dog Eating Contest began at Coney Island, N.Y., ESPN flashed the results of an online poll across the bottom of the screen.

The results showed that 85 percent of voters do not believe that competitive eating is a sport.

Duh!

The 15 percent who said eating is a sport need to be lined up and repeatedly kicked in the shorts by the members of the United States men's soccer team - who, by the way, DO play a sport.

Voting that competitive eating is a sport automatically insinuates that those who take part are athletes.

Imagine that.

Joey "the Jaws" Chestnut being classified as an athlete because he scarfed down 66 hot dogs in 10 minutes, including 17 in the first 90 seconds.

Since when is making a pig of yourself a sport?

Heck, I once ate 2 dozen wings in a sitting but I didn't jump up on my chair, beat my chest and proclaim myself to be an extraordinary athlete because of it.

It's enough of a stretch to see competitive eating, spelling bees and the Westminster Dog Show on ESPN. To think any of the competitors are athletes is absurd, though.

In my many years as a sports writer, I've often been backed into the same corner when doing talks at area high schools. "Is cheerleading a sport?" is the common query.

I now have a good answer.

"I don't know if cheerleading is a sport. But it's more of a sport than competitive eating."

- John Kampf

In the last month or so, I was told one night in the office about a website I might find interesting.

Big mistake, because now, I can't pull myself away from the site for large periods of time.

Sporcle, unleash your grip on me. Please.

Basically, Sporcle is a list quiz website. Any subject you can imagine, including sports, you're given x amount of time to fill in the blanks. English professional soccer clubs (all the way to the Conference). The 100 Indians with most games played for the team. Statistical leaders for every season (insert Big 4 franchise) has been around. Starting lineups. Geographic order. You name it.

The honor code part of it is to not look up the answers and do it off the top of your head. Or with people staring over your shoulder trying to help you out and annoyed like you if they can't get a certain answer.

Go ahead and try it - www.sporcle.com. It's like a potato chip. You have one - and good luck if you can avoid having another. And another again.

If you REALLY want to start with a bang, try the NBA's top 200 scorers from 1999-2009 (for the record, I didn't try this one).

The site's home page states its games have been played nearly 554 MILLION times.

After getting hooked myself, I believe it.

- Chris Lillstrung

Does the NBA lockout have you down? Wondering where you will get your basketball fix if the NBA doesn't have a season?

Head south on I-71 to watch the Buckeyes. Ohio State should be ranked in the top 5 in the preseason with the likes of Jared Sullinger, William Buford and Aaron Craft back for the 2011-12 season.

The non-conference schedule is loaded with marquee games. The first is a biggie, maybe the biggest non-conference game is some time in Columbus. Duke and Coach K visit the Buckeyes as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Nov. 29. Also playing in Columbus is Florida on Nov. 15. The Gators were one game from the Final Four last season and should be talented again this season. The other big non-conference game for OSU is at Kansas on Dec. 10.

Add in an always-tough Big Ten slate and there should be no shortage of OSU hoops games to check out while the NBA and its players sort out their labor mess.

- Mark Podolski

Conference expansion is officially taking place this week in college sports.

Because these movements are football-driven, it's another opportunity to show how college football can't get it right.

With the addition of Nebraska, the Big Ten, which had 11 schools, now has 12.

The Big 12, which lost Colorado in addition to Nebraska, has 10 teams.

Both conferences are retaining their now numerically incorrect names.

At least the Pac-10 has it right. With Utah and Colorado, it expanded to 12 schools. With the move, it changed its name to Pac-12.

What a concept.

- Howard Primer