LeBron Needs to Prove He Is "King James" ... Or Just Sign On With a Winner

This is LeBron James' moment.

His Cleveland Cavaliers ... owners of the best record in the regular season ... face the Celtics in Boston tonight. They must win that game and then a Game 7 back in Cleveland or else their season is over. What was such a promising and exciting season a week ago has now turned into tense nerves. That's what a 32-point loss at home can do to ya.

While the Lakers, Magic and Suns are all enjoying some time off after their sweeps, the Cavs and Celtics are clawing at each other for that final spot.

Game 5 was a bad one for LeBron. Game 6 is huge. For those people who continue to try to convince me that LeBron is the best player in the NBA ... I want to see how he performs tonight. With his back against the wall and his season (and possibly Cavs career) on the line, I want to see what this cat will bring to Beantown. I expect to see the dominating LeBron attacking the basket and not one that settles for jump shots.

The last time LeBron was put in this position, he stormed off the floor in Orlando last May. The Magic disposed of the Cavaliers in six game and LeBron huffed and puffed and went home. When he did finally emerge, he complained that shaking your opponents' hands in a loss makes you a loser. Well, LeBron ... you are.

The Cavaliers have never won anything. Not before you got there and not the King James version. Sure, these are the best times in the franchise's life but if you want to be considered among the greatest of all time, you might want to win a title. Yes, Karl Malone and Charles Barkley are fondly remembered. But Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson are beloved.

Which brings me to his impending free agency. The one thing we will hear from these mega-star free agents is "it isn't about the money -- it's about winning." Bullcrap. Bullcrap! Stop selling us that baloney. If it was "all about winning", then LeBron, Dwyane Wade, Amare Stoudamire, Chris Bosh and Joe Johnson would all take less money and join forces to win a title. Win some titles that way. Who cares if you overloaded a team to win it all?? Most of the Celtics championship teams were filled with Hall Of Famers. So were the Lakers teams of the 1980s.

My outside the box scenario is that LeBron goes to Los Angeles and joins the Lakers. It actually is a perfect scenario. LeBron could be the Magic Johnson-esque point guard to replace Derek Fisher in the starting lineup (keep Fish around for those big shots he provides). Imagine the defensive possibilities with a backcourt of LeBron and Kobe Bryant with Ron Artest on the wing and Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum patrolling the paint. LeBron's game is perfect for the triangle offense and his ability and willingness to pass the ball will allow him to fit in.

Sure, that means the Lakers signed him for the mid-level exception (about $5M per) and that he'd be giving up three or four times that on the open market ... but it's about winning, right? And the marketing opportunities that await LeBron in New York are pretty much available in Los Angeles. The Lakers are the glamor franchise of the NBA and LeBron would be the eventual heir to that organization's reign. From Kareem to Magic to Shaq to Kobe to LeBron.

Why not? It's about winning championships, right? Well, if you signed a smaller deal with LA this summer, you will be in a great chance to start your ring collection. After all, this team won one last year without you and Kobe is sitting on four rings right now (and counting).

Don't think of it as you riding Kobe's coattails to a title. Again, you could become the man in LA once Kobe's done and you know that organization has the pull to keep you among the elite. This is a franchise that dismantled a three-time championship team ... only to go to the Finals four years later.

So either shut up and ball you balls off tonight in Boston. Or put your money where your mouth is and truly find the place that is best for winning a title.

JaMarcus Russell to Bengals Is Perfect Idea

JaMarcus Russell may not have a criminal record or several court cases coming up, but he's about as rancid as any player in the league. The man was the top overall pick in the draft four years ago and now nobody wants anything to do with him.

Which makes Russell to the Cincinnati Bengals perfect sense.

This is the franchise that has given second chances to ... well ... everyone. Two years ago, Cedric Benson was jobless in Texas before the Bengals snatched him up. No one wanted Larry Johnson last year and they picked him up. In this offseason, the ostracized Matt Jones and Pacman Jones ... neither of which played last season ... signed with Cincy. They are willing to draft guys that other teams ban from their draft boards.

So why not Russell? The Bengals sure could use a backup to Carson Palmer. Russell could use a job with no pressure. He could also use an owner who isn't concerned by what people think about him to take a chance on him. Al Davis did it -- now it's Mike Brown's turn. He is the perfect reclamation project for Brown and could actually be his legendary moment. If he can get Russell to be a capable quarterback in this league, it might be a steal. Of course, that probably won't happen ... but it could very well be a low risk/high reward kind of a deal.

The difference is that these other "projects" were decent players who had outside issues keeping them out of the league. Russell is far from a decent player and who honestly believes that the Bengals have the coaching to make him into a serviceable QB?

Will Farrell Shows Up as Rojo Johnson and ... Well Just Watch

Today (May 7th) Is Epic Day in NBA History

Today is May 7th. So is it wrong to expect a great moment or two tonight? I mean, in the past decades, some of the most iconic moments in NBA history happened on this day.

1989: "Shot over Ehlo ... good! Bulls win!" In a career filled with great moments and shots, Jordan may be known most for this one. His 18-footer beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in the series-deciding Game 5 (at the Cavs' place) and put them on the track to vault the Celtics and Pistons as the eventual beasts of the east.

1994: Denver beats Seattle: This is one of the greatest postseason upsets in NBA history. The Seattle SuperSonics had the best regular season record (63-19) in the league that year. Denver was a bunch of young cats that squeaked into the playoffs with a 42-40 mark. In the first two games in Seattle, the Sonics cruised to easy victories and the thought of advancing was a mere formality. Even when the Nuggs blew out Seattle in Game 3, we knew that this was just a blip. But then came a gutty overtime win by Denver in Game 4 and it set up a deciding Game 5 back in Seattle. That game was on May 7th ... and the Nuggets again took the Sonics into overtime. And ... again ... they won. Denver became the first No. 8 seed to beat a No. 1 seed in NBA postseason history. The scene of Dikembe Mutombo laying on the floor with an ear-to-ear grin defines that upset.

1995: Reggie lights up New York: Reggie Miller's epic 8-point explosion in the 8.9 seconds of the fourth quarter of Indiana Pacers playoff game against the New York Knicks defines this future Hall Of Famer's career.

SportzAssassin.com Turns Six Years Old!

Hard to believe that SportzAssassin.com just turned 6 years old. It all started back on May 1st, 2004 with a modest post about the NBA Playoffs. From there, it has been quite a ride.

I parlayed that to "Pigskin Bloggers" and the "Pigskin Bloggers Live" internet radio show on AOL. That got my blog featured on ESPN's Cold Pizza three times as well as being on air along side great athletes and columnists. I had Seth Davis call me an idiot because I said that J.J. Redick chokes in the biggest games (which he did) and that will be Duke's downfall in the tournament (it was). I debated Scoop Jackson about where Phil Jackson would end up (Scoop picked the Knicks; I picked the Lakers). It was an awesome time for the empire.

All of that was tossed aside when AOL decided to start FanHouse.com. I was one of the original bloggers on that site ... mainly specializing in fantasy football. From there, I was added on to the college basketball section (where I eventually became a lead blogger) and then the NFL. I covered the Washington Redskins (my favorite team), Carolina Panthers (my hometown team), Cincinnati Bengals (where I live now), Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins.

I worked with some great people over the years at FanHouse and SportzAssassin as well as working for some outstanding visionaries (The Mottrams, Alana G, John Ness). I would leave FanHouse in April 2009 due to the site's switch from a sports blog to a sports magazine. With all the sports writers losing jobs in the dying newspaper industry, I cannot blame AOL for deciding to snatch these guys up and reimagining the blog. Since I'm just some "basement blogger", I was asked to leave.

The three years I spent there were great and taught me a lot about the business side of sports blogging as well as being on the front side of the sports blogging explosion. That's been what I've been proud of most. The fact that this site began before anyone even knew about sports blogs and the fact that I was part of its skyrocketing popularity is something I'll always treasure.

Since leaving FanHouse, I now work for Yardbarker.com where I'm an editor and contributor (thanks to the aforementioned Alana). My SportzAssassin site is being seen more now than it ever has. Again, I'm just some small blog written by one man who has no aspirations about being a sportswriter or media personality. I just love sports and love writing my opinions. The fact that anyone even reads what I write still amazes me.

So thank you to all of you guys who bother to come to the site as well as all of the people who helped me along the way.

I (Almost Completely) Love MLB's New All-Star Game Changes

Major League Baseball may have actually done something right! And not just the "right" that comes after the initial skepticism. No, I think it's a good thing right now.

First off, I'm not the biggest fan of the Designated Hitter ... but I've long lobbied that the DH should be implemented in every All Star Game. Not just the ones in AL parks. It's an All-Star Game and having pitchers hit (even though that rarely happens) is ridiculous.

You may say that, well, what really changes? Well, that means we have extra guys who are All-Star starters. It also allows the manager, whose trying to win the game while giving everyone an opportunity to play, and easier time managing his gigantic roster (which got even bigger when MLB decided to add another position player to each team). I feel that there is more of an opportunity to get guys that kind of exposure that they may only get that one time.

Baseball also decided that one position player on each team can be re-inserted if their last position player gets injured. I like where this is heading, but I think it could go further. I would like to see EVERYONE available to be reinserted once ... even if there are no injuries. Think about it: let the voted in All Stars play the first three innings. Then start doing the substitutions in the middle innings so everyone gets an opportunity to play. Then, allow the managers to bring back guys in the 8th and 9th innings. Then we can see Pujols or Howard or Jeter or A-Rod swinging with the game on the line. Too many times in All Star games, the final innings are a little-known Kansas City Royal getting a hit off a little-known Pittsburgh Pirate. Allow the stars to come back into the game.

If ALL is too big for you, how about the top three, four or five guys? That still allows the Pujolses and Howards to be able to swing with the game on the line.

I'd also like to see all pitchers limited to just one inning of work. Get these guys in there so we can see them perform.

Big Ben's Suspension (and Return) Sure Is Convienent For the NFL

I'm still a little shocked that the NFL and Roger Goodell dropped the hammer on Ben Roethlisberger and gave him a six-game suspension. Sure, he could only sit four games if he behaves and does what the Commish wants, but the more I think about it ... the more I think it will stick at six no matter what.

Why? Just look at the schedule.

The six games Big Ben will miss will be against Falcons, Titans, Buccaneers, Ravens, Browns and Dolphins. Some decent teams in that mix along with two divisonal games and a Week 5 bye. But it isn't a huge deal since all of these games will take place at 1:00pm on Sundays.

That means it will be Week 8 when Ben Roethlisberger makes his return. Hmmmm. On Week 8, the Steelers visit the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints on NBC's Sunday Night Football. I wonder if that is a kwinky-dink?

I mean, having Ben make his return on a nationally televised primetime game sure looks like a ratings grab. You know that everyone and their mama will check in on that game just to see Roethlisberger (well, the Saints are pretty good too). And what a relief that Ben's suspension isn't longer so he doesn't miss this game.

Weird that Pittsburgh's first six games are all just 1:00pm games and that the seventh is a Sunday nighter.

Even weirder that the very next weekend, the Steelers visit the defending AFC North champion Cincinnati Bengals ... on ESPN's Monday Night Football. Man! What a strange turn of events!

It gets better. The very next weekend, the Steelers play at home (Ben's first game back in Pittsburgh) against the New England Patriots. Oh, that game is back on NBC's Sunday Night Football.

So Ben's first three games after suspension will all be nationally televised games in primetime. Now, is it me or does it seem as if this was all planned. After all, remember that the NFL delayed the release of the schedule. Remember that it was released the night before the league smacked Roethlisberger with that suspension. Do these things go hand in hand? I think so.

Realign MLB According to Class Status

A while ago, I wrote that MLB should just scrap the divisional format. I still agree with all of that, but if it is just too much for you ... well, you probably won't like this either.

Keep two divisions in two leagues ... but readjust the leagues in a class system.

The problem with baseball is that you have a bunch of haves and a bunch of have-nots. There are 10+ cities in this great nation of ours that go into virtually every season knowing they have no shot at postseason success. And despite the crying that there are small market teams that do find successes now and then, that doesn't compare to the Yankees, Cardinals, Red Sox, Angels and Dodgers knowing that they should be in the playoffs regardless of what happens.

The Florida Marlins or Tampa Bay Rays can't have a dynasty as they could of 20-30 years ago. There would be no Big Red Machine of the 1970s. There would be no Pirates run of NL East titles in the early 1990s. How long would the Bash Brothers last in Oakland nowadays? Of course, those Pirates and Reds teams were broken up quicker than they should have.

So instead of the Commish's plan of floating realignment where teams move divisions depending on their perceived competitiveness, how about just nipping it in the bud and realigning by the resources the teams have.

Make the National League the league of rich teams. Make the American League the league of small-market teams (the reasoning? The NL has been around longer and having "National" tagged to the rich league and "American" tied to the poorer teams seems proper).

NATIONAL LEAGUE
EAST: Braves, Mets, Orioles, Phillies, Red Sox, Tigers, White Sox, Yankees
WEST: Angels, Astros, Cardinals, Cubs, Dodgers, Giants, Mariners, Rangers

AMERICAN LEAGUE
EAST: Blue Jays, Indians, Marlins, Nationals, Pirates, Rays, Reds
WEST: Athletics, Brewers, Diamondbacks, Padres, Rockies, Royals, Twins

The beauty of this is that it can be fluid. Things change. The Mariners are in the rich league because they have Nintendo backing them. What if Nintendo starts a rapid decline? Or what if they just sell the team to a group that doesn't have anywhere near those kinds of resources? Things change. The Minnesota Twins were the epitome of a small market team. Well, they just popped open Target Field which will bring in a bunch of new revenue. You can float these teams across leagues if it seems as if the rich get poorer and someone goes from rags to riches.

Now, this doesn't mean that one of the American League teams cannot overspend for talent. Remember how the Diamondbacks and Marlins both exploded their payrolls in order to get to ... and ultimately win ... the World Series? Those were one-year fixes that paid off. With all the poor teams lumped together to compete, it will empower some of these teams to go for it and break their ceiling. Those teams are a bit more reluctant to do that now because they don't feel as if they have a shot to compete with the big dogs.

Sure, it will lead us to a World Series where we have a rich team against a "poor" team. So? We had the Phillies-Rays of a couple years ago. We had the Red Sox-Rockies. We had the Marlins-Yankees, D'backs-Yankees, Yankees-Padres, Marlins-Indians, Blue Jays-Phillies, Blue Jays-Braves and ... gasp ... two lower level teams with the Reds-A's. It's baseball where anything can happen. The wealthy Yankees can take on an upstart Marlins team and lose in the World Series.

The rich teams will like this because you can take the revenue sharing part out of the equation. Why should they put money back in to help the smaller market teams when they have their own league? Sure, the competition will be rabid in that National League, but that's good for all of us and keeps franchises from just writing checks to get into the postseason.

The poor teams will like this because, obviously, it gives them a better shot at winning something. There are no excuses, like "we can't compete with those large market teams".

THANK YOU NCAA FOR SEEING THE LIGHT!

The NCAA is recommending expanding the NCAA Tournament to .... wait for it ... 68 teams. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

I love it. I've been all for expanding the tournament to 68 teams. You can have the bottom eight teams battle in out in a day long event in Dayton with those teams being the #16 and #15 seeds.

And, even better, the NCAA is signing on with CBS and Turner Sports to a 14-year deal that will ensure EVERY NCAA TOURNAMENT GAME WILL BE TELEVISED! Not as big a deal for me since I've used DirecTV's Mega March Madness for the last seven or so years. It will save me just under $100 though.

Thank you NCAA for actually showing some restraint and having some sense not to screw up out beloved tournament.

Big Ben's Punishment Is Harsh, But Stars Do Deserve the "Star Treatment"

I must admit that I was shocked to hear that the NFL suspended Ben Roethlisberger for six games. I knew and expected for him to get suspended, but I was looking at the two-to-four game range. That six gamer is quite a sting.

Now, some people think that's too much. I don't. Some people think that the NFL is making an example of Big Ben. I agree with those people ... and the NFL.

Jimmy Johnson used to always say that you don't treat every player equally. Some guys deserve the "star treatment" because of what the offer to your team. He wouldn't treat his backup center the same way as he treated Emmitt Smith or Michael Irvin. I'm fine with that.

That being said, with great power comes great responsibility. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Fill in your own cliche.

The NFL's conduct policy has nothing to do with if you are charged with a crime or not. It is about bringing bad press to the league. Roethlisberger certainly did that. And since he is one of the faces of the NFL, his damage is greater.

Is it fair? That's hard to answer. If some backup center had this happen instead of Big Ben, he may not get that big of a punishment. But Roethlisberger's name holds more weight than most of the league. He's one of the guys the NFL loves putting out there as being tough, great QB and a winner. He's nearly in the level that Peyton Manning and Tom Brady enjoy. If Tiger Woods played in the NFL, Roger Goodell would smack him with a similar punishment.

I liken it to the NBA. In a matter of a couple of years, we had Kobe Bryant accused of sexual assault ... just after Ruben Patterson was (and later convicted of attempted rape). Now, which one do you remember? Which one held more media coverage? Kobe, by a landslide in both cases. The star's reach is greater, so his punishment should be too.

NFL Draft Isn't My Cup Of Tea

Yes, I'm the Sportz Assassin. Yes, I've been a diehard Redskins fan for nearly three decades. Yes, I'm very interested in who Washington picks with the No. 4 pick in the draft.

Other than that, I just don't care about the NFL Draft. It isn't for me.

I'm not one of those people who sets aside that weekend to watch the entire draft. I'm not one of those people who participate in mock drafts. I'm not one of those people who watch the combines or cares about draftees stock. I don't care about Mel Kiper Jr or Todd McShay. I don't.

I don't care to sit and watch an overblown production about the selection of players ... many of which I wouldn't know their names heading in. I follow and watch college football, but I'm not as big a diehard as I am the NFL. I don't care to sit and watch three days of drafting where ... on Day 1 ... when Kiper and McShay keep talking about certain player dropping or how some team is stupid for reaching for a guy. They, like everyone, cannot predict either the draft or the careers of those drafted.

Then I can't stand for the rounds past the first two. Because, you may as well not even televise it since ESPN won't even acknowledge those players. Oh, they will for guys they've earmarked as great stories or notable college players, but the last 150+ guys will get not love despite the chance that one or more of them will explode into impact players (I bet that Marques Coltson's name was just a blip on the crawl when he was drafted). And I HATE the length of time between picks.

Now, that's not to say I won't keep an eye on it. I'll check my phone periodically to see where certain guys may go. And, sure, I'm interested to see where Tim Tebow goes despite not being in love with him as other football fans are.

Give me the NBA Draft. It moves at a great pace, the draft lasts one night, I'm much more familiar with the players and those guys could have more of an impact on their teams off the bat. The NFL Draft is okay, but it's not my cup of tea.

Will the Big Ten's Expansion Lead Us Into the SuperConference Era?

With the Big Ten looking to expand, the theory that we will soon have a bunch of superconferences is starting to gain traction. I'm not sure that it will get to this any time soon, but it is an interesting concept.

The school of thought is that the Big Ten will loot the Big XII and Big East to get to 16 teams ... which will open those conferences up to get looted by the ACC, SEC and Pac-10.

ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE (16 teams)
NORTH: Boston College, Cincinnati, Louisville, Maryland, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, West Virginia
SOUTH: Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami, NC State, North Carolina, Wake Forest

BIG TEN (16 teams)
EAST: Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, UConn
WEST: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Northwestern, Wisconsin

PAC-10 CONFERENCE (16 teams)
EAST: Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, Colorado, Kansas, Kansas State, Texas Tech, Utah
WEST: Cal, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington, Washington State

SOUTHEASTERN (16 teams)
EAST: Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
WEST: Arkansas, LSU, Mississippi, Miss State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M

The biggest losers are obviously the Big XII and Big East which will pretty much not exist. In that, the individual losers would be Iowa State, Rutgers and South Florida ... as well as the basketball-only schools of the Big East. Those three schools are left out of any realignment and will most likely have to go fishing in a smaller than BCS conference.

So I have those three globbing on to the Conference USA ... along with Charlotte ... to form their own 16-team league. Charlotte is planning to have a football program in a couple of years and should be ready to step in when all this breaks open.

CONFERENCE USA (16 teams)
EAST: Central Florida, Charlotte, East Carolina, Marshall, Rutgers, South Florida, Southern Miss, UAB
WEST: Houston, Iowa State, Memphis, Rice, SMU, Tulane, Tulsa, UTEP

Then, let's just merge the Mountain West and WAC together (sans Idaho).

MOUNTAIN WEST/WAC (16 teams)
EAST: Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, Louisiana Tech, New Mexico, New Mexico State, TCU, Wyoming
WEST: BYU, Fresno State, Hawaii, Nevada, San Diego State, San Jose State, UNLV, Utah State

BIG EAST (basketball only)
DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, Seton Hall, St. John's, Villanova

UConn to Big Ten? Colorado and Utah to Pac-10?

It may be starting very, very, very soon.

The Big Ten is looking to get that 12th team that will allow them to hold a college football championship game ... and getting in that New York market is also on their minds. I was listening to Colin Cowherd's radio show today when he mentioned a rumor that I've been backing for years: The Big Ten is going after UConn.

It makes sense on many levels. UConn is heavily covered by the New York media AND the New England media. You'd inherit a football program that is highly competitive and gets to bowl games. You'd inherit a hoops program that has won two National Championships in the last 12 years. You'd inherit a women's basketball team that is THE elite program in the nation. It's a great school that will help get the conference into the door for Pittsburgh, Syracuse or Rutgers if they wanted to down the road.

Adding UConn to the mix is huge. That would mean that the Pac-10 would have to make their own move. Cowherd mentioned that Utah would be a lock to join (I agree) and Colorado would most likely jump over as well (I said BYU, but getting the Denver market would be huge for the Pac-10).

A new-look Big Ten could look like this:
EAST: Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, UConn
WEST: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Northwestern, Wisconsin

A new-look Pac-10 could look like this:
NORTH: Colorado, Oregon, Oregon State, Utah, Washington, Washington State
SOUTH: Arizona, Arizona State, California, Stanford, UCLA, USC

Of course, the Big XII and Mountain West Conferences will be short a member. Well, that's kind of simple. The Big XII would love to add TCU or Arkansas to their ranks. The Mountain West (maybe needing to replace TCU as well as Utah) could go after Boise State and Fresno State ... or maybe look at adding another Texas school like UTEP.

Edwin Valero Found Dead In His Cell

Another boxing story that ends in horror. Edwin Valero was found dead in his Venezuelan jail cell, hours after being put there in suspicion of his wife's murder. He reportedly used his own clothes to hang himself.

Valero is a former Super Featherweight champion (who lost his title when he moved up to Lightweight) who sported a 27-0 record ... all by knockouts (including 19 in the first round). He was in line to face Manny Pacquiao at some point in the future.

But the man had his demons. He was in a motorcycle accident in 2001 that nearly ended his professional career before it got started. Due to the damage sustained in the accident, he found it hard to get his fights sanctioned. He also had a couple of assault charges on his record, but got out of them when the alleged victims (his sister, mother and wife) said that nothing happened.

Then this. Valero's wife was found dead in a Venezuelan hotel with Valero admitting that he was the killer. Hours later, he is dead.

This comes after Arturo Gatti's death was controvercially ruled a suicide, Alexis Arguello comitted suicide and Vernon Forrest murdered during a robbery in Atlanta.

Valero was 28 years old.

Theme Song, "Marlins Will Soar", Sucks Balls

This may be the worst song in the history of songs ... and it definitely is the worst song among any that is used as a sports team's theme.

Scott Stapp, the lead singer of Creed, is the one moaning on this song.

Here are the horrible lyrics:

Let's play ball, it's game day
We watch strikeouts, base hits, double plays
Take the field, hear the roar of the crowd
Come on Marlins, make us proud
Come on Marlins, make us proud

Keep hoping and dreaming and you will soar
With a little faith and luck, you will soar
One strike, two strikes, swing awayA diving catch, a stolen base
A perfect game, a triple play
A [undistinguishable] play of praise
We're series champs, we [crack of bat?]

Keep hoping and dreaming and you will soar
With a little faith and luck, you will soar
Keep hoping and dreaming and you will soar
With a little faith and luck, you will soar

Hat tip: Miami NewTimes