Not ready for football season, but it's here!

Though 'my' Cleveland Indians are not doing well, they are quite exciting, but I am not ready for football season yet.

Baseball season lasts through October.

For me, the summer ends on the last day of the World Series.

Today I picked up my Cleveland Browns' season ticket and realized it's fastly approaching.

Let's face it, with temps in the mid 90's, it really makes it difficult to fathom what time of year is just in front of us.

Channel 3, WKYC will air, as usual, the Cleveland Browns' Pre-Season games:

• Saturday, August 14 at Green Bay


• Saturday, August 21 at Cleveland Browns Stadium against the Rams


• Saturday, August 28 at Detroit


• September 2 at Cleveland Browns Stadium against the Bears

And as always, you can be sure that wkyc and Sportstime Ohio will give the consummate football fan and casual watcher everything and anything necessary to attack the 2010 Football Season--before, during, and after.

Jim Donovan, radio voice of the Cleveland Browns, hosts Browns Training Camp Daily every day to give the sports fan insight into the daily workings, the progress, and the highs and lows of what the team may or may not be doing as well as covering Browns Camp every day with the rest of the Channel 3 Sports Department.

If you want a front row seat to this year's Cleveland Browns' Season, look no further than wkyc Channel 3 News and Sportstime Ohio for the comprehensive coverage in town!

Weekly Feature: Hidden Gems

This week's Hidden Gem: Larchmere Festival

As you can see folks, Hidden Gems has been on a short hiatus, sort of...

Summer vacations, traveling, breaking sports news, and such have made me stray from this feature for the time being.

Don't worry, it's not gone for good. It's summertime!

Cleveland's known for its abundance of summer festivals, carnivals, outdoor events, concerts, patios, and non-stop festivities which run all summer long! I love this city!

Definitely NOT lacking the perfect accompanying weather. It's been FLA North!

One of the most amazing festivals this month has been the Larchmere Festival.

If you have not ventured over to Larchmere/Shaker Square in a while, it's a must.

You are sure to find a restaurant and type of food tantalizing to your taste in this neighborhood.

Every Saturday morning, the Farmer's Market.

Unique stores, antiques, collectibles, galleries, movie theatres, and anything else you crave can be found in this historical neighborhood.

The Larchmere Festival rocked! Set up nearly the stretch of North Moreland to East 121st Street, vendors lined both sides of the street wall to wall selling their creations.

Vendors came from far and near. Even if they did not have a shop on Larchmere, they made their way to the Boulevard clamoring for attention from Ohio and beyond.

The charm began for me from the get go.

I walked to the festival and stopped by an old-fashioned lemonade stand put on by 2 adorable little neighborhood girls. Oh, the days when we used to set up our stands --we sold lemonade and one year we sold ice cream floats! Because we made the most complex ice cream concoction, we actually lost money, but it was delish!

Not even on the BLVD, you could hear the live musical acts lining the street.....food vendors also sporadically placed for the hungry shoppers.

You greeted everyone you saw, even if you did not know them and saw so many friends and neighbors along the way.

The sellers peddled anything and everything from porch swings to handmade jewelry, Beatles plates, porcelain figurines, shoes, drawings, wood crafted articles, furniture, religious items, record albums and cd's, and anything else you could imagine.

This already vibrant area had its heart beating right out of its chest.

There was also a special wine tasting session which ran for most of the day, if you were into that delicacy.

Most restaurants up and down Larchmere have some type of patio in front or out back. The Flying Cranes has one of the most beautiful flower gardens you could ever see. Won't want to miss it!

Simply put, a fulfilling and quite amazing day with no one going home disappointed.

If you've not been to this area before or in a while, a must!

Keep your eyes on the calendar for any events which take place in this area including next year's Larchmere Festival and Porchfest! Always a treat, always a hit never to be missed!

Please, don't take my word for it. Expand your horizons this summer and head over to Larchmere Boulevard while the days are long, the heat is on, the patios are open, and the drinks flowing to experience for yourself while the Larchmere Festival is this week's Hidden Gem!

Monina Wagner back in the hoooouuse!

Monina Wagner = Fabulous person.

Not only one of the nicest, kindest, funniest people I've ever known, but one of THE best Planning Editors and Assignment Editors I've ever worked with in my long career!

I consider her to be a dear, dear friend for life.

She has since moved on to work in the Media Dept at the Cleveland Clinic. I'm sure she has a fancy title, and honestly, not sure what her fancy title is right now.

Monina is actually working at the Clinic in this particular department with at least 3 people I've worked with --Jodie, Dave, and Bill. They are ALL just super human beings.

She brought a doctor to the station Monday to be a guest on our 7pm newscast during our Focus segment and brightened our day!

Yea, so good to see Monina again! :)

ps--will NEVER forget U2 and Bono with you lovey!

Still wading through email --mostly Le-Gone

Holy Heck, Batman!

After being gone for only 5 days, the email really piled up!

1000+ and still counting.

It's hard to get ahead because each day there are 200-300 new email coasting in...

The most interesting and memorable are all the email coming in -- official (like Dan Gilbert's letters) and non-official from fans and viewers regarding LeBron.

Remember, I was out of computer, phone, email, and Cleveland reaction range for 5 days. I had no idea what was going on back here except for short excerpts I saw on tv down in FLA.

Looks like the frenzy began hours before 'The Decision' and has never stopped!

Heck, as I was wading and wading, I saw emails from Dan Gilbert, Mayor Don Plusquellic, the Cleveland Cavaliers, Downtown Cleveland Alliance, Mayor Frank Jackson, and so many others....

Then you have all the events scheduled to help folks ease their mind and feel better. Let's see, I ran across the LeBonfire event in Solon where disappointed fans could get rid of their memories/shirts/posters or whatever necessary to get through this event.

Then I read the letter from a "Cleveland Sports Fan who is no longer a LeBron fan." Looks like this person works for the Elyria Schools District and drafted a letter to send out on 'The Decision.'

How about the enactment of the LeBron Shames Cleveland HQ? Clever.

A website where fans can donate their #23 gear for charity --BreakupwithLebron.com.

These are just a few of the highlights.

I really don't know what to think. I do know this one man has taken a city by storm and then left destruction in its wake.

I also know it's kind of sad that one man has made such an impact on an entire city and beyond.

Just makes for yet another chapter in Cleveland, Ohio's rich and tumultuous history.

Stay tuned....

What a time to be "computer-less"

Yes, my friends.

I was in FLA for 5 days and the big story revolved around Cleveland and Florida!

It appears that news follows me wherever I go.

As I was leaving and at Hopkins International Airport, all the stations had LeBron on and what 'may happen?'

However, here was my predicament.

I was off for 5 days. I made a vow that I was going to lay low out of town, to the extent no phone and no computer.

The no computer situation solved itself because I don't yet have a fancy phone that gets the Internet AND the place I was staying did not really have a great Internet connection ....so I WAS pretty much locked out of my provider, Facebook and Twitter.

What a time to be locked out? I so wanted to hop on and fire back at LeBron James at what he did to the city of Cleveland, Dan Gilbert, all the little kids who so look up to him, and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

I did make my friend tivo LeBron so we could watch it after the Indians-Rays game. Loved seeing the Cleveland reaction, though it was distressing and I did burst into tears yet again. The 1st time being at the Indians-Rays game getting text messages as to what happened and just erupting into tears in the middle of Tropicana Field.

I did not even know the 1/2 of the story being 2000 miles away and computer-less.

Holy smokes. When I got back and I saw 'the letter' as a response to 'the decision,' I said --you go Dan Gilbert!

The whole time in FLA, wherever we were--whether eating or poolside --there was something on tv regarding the 3 new Miami Heat. I could not get away from it.

The phone angle --I must admit, I told a few folks to text me 'the decision' since I was not near a tv at that time. I also texted a few folks back. But for the most part, I did stay away from the phone.

And yet, the news still followed me around!

I'm told I was on tv --during the 2nd game of the Indians & Tampa Bay Rays game! Still have to take a look at that footage to make sure I looked 'presentable.'

I ran into a very old friend of mine who used to be the OPS Manager and one of my former photogs at WKYC --Kim Fatica. What a joy to see him, if only for a fleeting moment.

AND, to top it off, he had to cover this huge sinkhole ....so of course, emails his former assignment editor a picture of his assignment while he was on scene. We still have that bond! It WAS a great picture! I felt like I was in the know on top of the news happening in TPA.

I also hooked up with one of my former co-workers and pretty much my best friend who used to be an editor extraordinaire at WKYC --Craig Schuck.

It does someone a world of good not to be tethered to their computer....but again, what a time to be computer-less when the biggest story to hit the sports world and Cleveland is unfolding before our eyes and I feel helpless and paralyzed!

Lesson to be learned --upgrade my phone OR wean myself off of the computer and Facebook so I can actually live a normal life every once in a blue moon!

Big TALL Ships, basketball players, & decisions

We have a lot of 'big-ness' revolving around Cleveland over the next 24 hours.

Last night the Tall Ships entered the Port of Cleveland with wkyc's own Betsy Kling, Barry Wolf, and Steve Pullen on board.

Take a gander over to wkyc.com to view the stories and excitement revolving around the Tall Ships. Betsy and her crews sailed in after being on board from Pennsylvania. What an experience! She shared her experience during a 7pm Tall Ships special where she went in depth on each ship, their voyage, what it's like living on them, and so much more!

Then, we have big, tall basketball players who can begin talking about their free-agency choices ......rumors all over the internet at this hour say our very own LeBron James is making his way to Miami.

Not sure what to believe.

However, I am on my way to Tampa, FLA and have put out the calls to my pals to call me and text me when he makes his announcement during an hour long broadcast on ESPN -- 'The Decision.'

I've tivo'd the show. My best friend Craig has tivo'd the show and we will watch it after we get home from the Indians-Tampa Ray baseball game.

Out of my hands. Out of all of our hands.

But, you can be sure--this will be a HUGE day in Cleveland with LeBron's BIG Decision, Tall Ships, and dealing with follow-up with LeBron, whatever his decision may be!

I'm out! Heading to Tampa and may cross paths with LBJ during my travels, who knows!

Cleveland Independence Day weekend 2010

Though there were a handful of communities who had to cancel their fireworks displays due to the lagging economy, you did not have to look far to see skyrockets in flight.

Independence Day weekend is always a huge weekend in Cleveland.

Friday night and Saturday night at Progressive Field entertained baseball fans and anyone visiting downtown and the immediate area as the city skyline boomed at dusk...

The Cleveland Indians put on one of 'the' best fireworks shows ever, bar none! They always have and they continue their streak.

Sunday, thousands converged all over Northeast Ohio for dozens of fireworks shows commemorating Independence Day --which makes this country great and sets it apart from so many other nations.

My sister, as she made her way to the Cleveland Fireworks show, ran into gridlock in the Shaker Heights area as residents converged on that community.

We made our way down to the wkyc digital broadcast center for one of the best vantage points in town to view not only the 4th fireworks but the air show and the grand prix.

What a night! Just jog your head to the left and see the Lakewood Fireworks show......look straight ahead and see the Cleveland Fireworks which lasted about 30 minutes and you look to the right and off in the distance could have been Euclid or some other 'lakeside' municipality...

The whole way home, the Cleveland sky painted in red, green, purples, and whites....

It must be Independence Day in Cleveland!

So much hoopla for one mortal

Whether you are a member of the media, a Cavaliers fan, a non-fan, or just a person trying to negotiate around downtown Cleveland, the chaos has been real and present.

Again, whether you love or hate LBJ, it's been thrilling to be on the assignment desk.

We have fellow media in town from all the other cities courting 'King James.'

Thursday was a huge kick-off day as we had crews working for STO, IMG staked out, Burke Airport and the County Airport covered, crews working for other stations in our microwave and satellite trucks.

Oh yea, and we had thousands of people camped out in Public Square for the annual 4th of July Cleveland Orchestra Concert.

Anywhere you turned, folks were holding signs that said 'HOME' or 'Witness' or some other catch phrase to get LeBron to stay.

Friday we had more of the same including a press conference with the new Cavaliers Coach.

Let's talk non-LeBron for a moment. One of the scanner calls I heard turned out to be Dave Summers story Friday night.

The initial call was two pedestrians struck at 526 Superior in downtown, Cleveland. When my camera crew arrived on scene, he shot the heck out of what had happened and called back to tell us this would make a great story for Summers.

In reality what happened is a homeless man in a wheelchair claiming to only have one leg beat the 'you know what' out of two people at that location. Truth IS stranger than fiction my friends.

The two victims were taken to the hospital and should be ok. But just picture someone in a wheelchair with one leg rising up and attacking an innocent bystander.

Amazing!

This weekend, Saturday in particular, should prove to be interesting as the Cleveland Cavaliers have their day with LeBron.....

I have no idea how this story will end. It's out of my hands and really none of my concern. But it sure has made for some jam-packed news days for our newsroom and especially our magnificent sports department.

Stay tuned my friends.......