The West Coast is a great area to live in, it has two Disney worlds, great food and lots of people. Those are all great reasons to live in the West.

But we all know the real way to decide where to live—sports.

All the best sports teams are in the East, the West teams are just second-best to the East. You can see it in the stats and you can see it records, the East has better sports teams then the West.

In most sports the East has played better then the West.

Most 2008 championship-winning teams played in the East.

Here is a look some of the top sports in America, just look at how the East wins most of the battles.

NFL

In the NFL, the Super Bowl winning Pittsburgh Steelers and the best record-owning Tennessee Titans are both in the East.

For eight seasons in a row, the Super Bowl winner was from the east or center of America. The west is not looking too good.

MLB

In baseball the Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series. The Angels had the best record in the MLB, but the Phillies won it all.

Out of the 21 teams that don't play in the west there are only six teams that had losing records in the west in 2008.

Out of the nine teams that play in the west only three had a record over .500 in 2008.

NBA

In basketball, the Boston Celtics won the NBA Championship.

Yes, the Lakers are great and the West did win the All-Star game, but the three of the top four teams are in the East and not only did the Celtics win the Championship last year, they beat the Lakers to do it.

NHL

In Hockey it is almost even, but the East beat the West in a shootout in the All-Star game.

This is close and it may be the only Sport that the West is better then the East.

MLS

Not many people care about soccer but in soccer it is no question that the East is better then the West.

The Columbus Crew beat the New York Red Bulls in the MLS cup match. Both are Eastern teams.

It looks lopsided that the East is better then the West in most sports.

I am not saying the the West does not have any good teams, some of the best sports teams play in the West.

The Angels and Lakers are some of the top teams in the USA, but teams like the Red Sox, Celtics, Steelers, Giants and many others keep the East in front of the West. 

So West Coast guys, time to move to the East, lots of room up here in New York for you guys to make the right move.

Mike Kent also writes on a Wiki of the New York Mets called the Met Wiki. Any and all help would be very much appreciated. If there are any questions, you can write on my wall.

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The Recent Results: The 'Quakes were bad last year, but what could you expect from an expansion side? Their defense was quite stingy, but the offense was pretty poor. In fact, though they ended up tied for the fewest points in the league with the Gals, they scored only about half the goals LA did.

But, they were improving at season’s end, unlike LA.

The Man in Charge: Frank Yallop is one of my favorite coaches. I love the fact he was crucial to SJE’s first two MLS Cup titles. I also love that he managed to escape the Gals and then tie them for low man on the MLS totem pole last season. Most of all though, I love him because he played for my (sniff) contracted Tampa Bay Mutiny.

On the Offensive: Darren Huckerby, who I call the “Sheriff of Nottingham” because he was born in Nottingham, England, is definitely the Quakes best offensive threat. In only 14 games last season, he scored six goals and had four assists. Who are his merry men? Well, in 2009 he will have help from Alvarez, Convey, O’Brien and Corrales.

For the Defense: SJE fields one of the better backlines in MLS and the new Seattle squad should be adopting their model of building from back to front. Joe Cannon is a fine keeper and Hernandez, Denton, Cochrane and especially Nick Garcia are strong defenders. SJE could make a run at the playoffs if they can score closer to two goals a game in ‘09.

Movie They Resemble: Well, since I obviously love my “Sheriff of Nottingham” nickname for Huckerby, I am going to go with Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Now, I hate that this movie features two of Hollywood’s all-time biggest douchebags, Kevin Costner and Christian Slater, but hear my out.

Like Robin’s merry men, SJE tried to rob from the rich (via the expansion draft) to give to the poor (the local fans who had to watch while Houston residents celebrated their team’s titles).

So, I think it’s a fitting selection. Of course, this pick also means I will have to start calling Cunliffe by the nickname “Little John”, but it’s a sacrifice I am willing to make.

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For Part 3 of 4, I look for the answers to North American soccer's "Chicken/Egg" question: "Do I go for the TV deal now? Or just get fans in the seats first?"

Item #3 – MLS and its owners should re-prioritize selling out venues over selling TV rights

FACT: Potential windfall TV deals, more often than not, follow the sell out of many stadiums

Nobody likes to watch a game on TV when it looks like no one even wants to watch the game LIVE. This is an insight that the NFL has leveraged with their “blackout rule.”

Simply put, if you can’t sell enough tickets to your games, we’ll put a team on TV that can. What has been the result? The NFL on-air product is one of the best in all professional sport, anywhere in the world.

And that product generates what has become a continuous cycle. If it looks like a great product on TV, you’ll go to the stadiums and buy it. Someone else then sees you enjoying the product on TV, then they go buy it.

And so on and so forth. However, many leagues (well, maybe just the NHL and MLS) lose sight of the fact the seats need to be filled FIRST.

While Gary Bettman still fails to realize that the Sun Belt Experiment is no longer the ticket to fanbase growth and the TV contract mountaintop, Garber, to his credit, has made a number of key moves to improve the live product, namely the requirement for Soccer Specific Stadiums (or an acceptable reconfigured stadium) as the point of entry into MLS.

Having attended many a Toronto FC match, “the Bank” does absolute wonders for the product (let's be honest, it's not World Cup) and has motivated me on occasion to turn the TV to CBC on a weekend afternoon during the summer.

And it is a fact that teams with “SSSs” average higher attendance than those renting extra time at old baseball diamonds or football stadiums.

If Garber is truly in this for the love of the game (lest we forget, he was nowhere near a soccer league or team until getting hired), my pipe-dream is that Garber redirects his ballooning expansion fees to investment in the live product. 

$140 in the 3 years can go a long way towards subsidies to accelerate new stadium or facility upgrade projects for existing teams (EXPAND BMO FIELD!!!) as an example. This type of investment would show great foresight on his part.

Being patient about the big profits now, can pay out in an even bigger way later. Sadly, reality tells me that this is likely not the case

Patience is truly a virtue and investing first in building fan loyalty in the local communities of North America’s soccer clubs will pay dividends in years to come.

But it does require PATIENCE, as well as a true love of the game, virtues that MLS’ predecessors in pro sport could afford but are sadly so rare in these “quick buck getting,” globalized times.

Lucky for the MLS and its owners, the NHL and the Sun Belt Experiment will serve as a warning to those that have invested in sport for all of the wrong reasons in all of the wrong ways.

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As another long hard season begins to reach the final few furlongs, With Manchester United leading the Premiership table and Luton Town fighting to hold on to there league status.

But as with any season we as fans have been subjected again to poor refereeing decisions and once again we must ask is it time we made referees responsible for there actions on the field of play and also isn’t time they started to explain there decisions.

The referee who seems to have blundered the most this season has been Stuart Attwell not only is he the youngest referee on the Premiership referees list but has been plucked from obscurity and fast tracked to a top refereeing post and his lack of experience shows.

His most colourful highlight this season was the game between Watford and Reading at Vicarage Road where he managed to award a goal that was easily a yard the wrong side of the post and both him and the linesman blamed an optical illusion.

Its not just Stuart Atwell that’s at fault but there seems just seems to be an increasing number of referees who make poor decisions week in week out. But who’s to blame and what can be done to improve relations and bring through a better standard of referee.

After every game I believe each referee should come out after the game and answer questions from the media in order to get an understanding of why decisions where made and get clarification on what the referees view of the incidents were. 

For me personally I blame FIFA and the FA as there constant changing of the rules confuses managers, players, fans and I would guess the officials. The best example of the unnecessary rule changes that has everyone baffled is the offside law.

The law itself was simple to understand and straight forward to follow but the introduction of active and inactive zones has just spread confusion and irritation.

I also believe that FIFA’s lack of interest in technological advancements is also hindering the referee’s job.

Any fan of cricket and rugby will be aware of the use video technology in these games and how well it works it's quick simple efficient and gives the officials much more information to utilise when making there decisions. 

For me personally I believe the best referee was Pierluigi Colina he was probably the most natural and gifted man to pick a whistle.

Not keeping the highly experienced referees in the game once they have been retired is a big mistake as their knowledge and handling of situations needs to be passed on to the new generation.

All Premier league referees are professionals so using the likes of Colina and his colleagues to work as referee coaches guide them through there decisions and help referees to understand why players, fans and managers react in the way the way they do.

Another possible idea would be to use ex-professional footballers as it would give them another option when they are retired.

With the amount of experience and knowledge that they would have picked up from playing it would give them a little more respect and also they could empathise with players about situations that arise in the course of a match. This idea has been mooted around for a long time with little success.

I also like the fact the English FA have started the Respect campaign but I feel its flawed. The general idea is to open communication between players and officials.

Before each game a member of the management staff and the club captain meet the referee with him explaining his expectations and opening up a line of communication.

During the game only club captains allowed to approach the referee but it does seem that a lot of referees still don’t like being questioned. If referees can be more open and clear with their approach to fans and players alike this may harbour a better understanding between all parties and make the game a much more enjoyable experience.

Now I do personally believe that every referee does and an extremely hard job. They have to handle the divers give decisions based on there own view of an incident and take all the criticism which is levelled at them.

I do also believe they must love the game with a passion and need our support as they are constantly having to deal with new interpretations of the games laws.

Even though we may not agree with all the decisions with out them there would be no game and its time the law makers started to make there job a little easier.

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The Recent Results

Last year was indisputably a turning point in the history of the franchise for Real Salt Lake. They finished third in the West, qualified for their first playoffs, and even made it to the semifinal before losing a heartbreaker to the New York Red Bull. Their defense finally showed up (fourth overall in goals against), so their fans started to as well. 

The Man in Charge

Jason Kreis has done very well at RSL, and I see no reason why he shouldn’t continue to lead that squad to greener pastures. He was a legendary MLS player, and I, for one, think he will end up being even more remembered for being a significant MLS manager. Only time will tell, but I think Kreis will do great things in Utah.

On the Offensive

Javier Morales is a revelation and probably one of the most overlooked players in the league when it comes to accolades. In addition, Movsisyan knows how to find the net and Robbie Findley is always a threat to score. I think RSL’s offense will improve in 2009 and place them in the top half of the table in goals scored.

For the Defense

RSL’s bread and butter is D, especially at home. Borchers and Wingert are steady and strong. Olave is stifling in a pinch, and Kyle Beckerman is one of the best five defensive mids in the league. The goalie issue is still crazy to me. I have nothing against Rimando, but if you aren’t going to play Seitz, why not deal him? 

Movie They Resemble

I know in the 2009 MLS Season Preview: Schedule Edition, I said I would not compare any team to The Passion of the Christ, but I have (as usual) changed my mind. This movie fits RSL like a crown of thorns. RSL, like Jesus, was beaten and flogged for awhile before making a remarkable return to relevancy. 

In addition, the team plays in Utah, which is definitely the No. 1 state in the nation when it comes to devotion to Christians’ Lord and Savior. Plus, their coach is freaking named Kreis, as in The Passion of the Kreis. Moreover, Jason Kreis (JK) and Jesus Christ (JC) have a lot in common. The coach’s wikipedia page even says he enjoys carpentry in his spare time. It’s a no brainer.

And, yep, Satan just penciled me in for a stay at his hot springs. I wonder if Hell has Fox Soccer Channel?

Probably just QVC.

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(Editor's Note): Not living in Seattle, I have a couple correspondents on the ground in scenic Seattle, WA, who have promised—and they did promise...in blood—to send me periodic posts on what they're seeing as season ticket holders during Seattle's first season in Major League Soccer (MLS).

Idiot that I am, I didn't get permission to use either person's name, so I'll have to start with Thing No. 1 and Thing No. 2; I'll stop using the image and give them proper names on command from them. Thing No. 2 authored the item below.

What I like about this is that Thing No. 2 comes at the entire soccer experience from another perspective—e.g. that of the generic "American sports fan," by which I mean he has followed several sports—intensely—but not soccer...at least not yet.

However, his ability to get totally, even stupidly, wrapped up in a sport is beyond question...oh, the stories I could tell. Keep that in mind when you read what follows...keep him happy, Sounders FC, and he'll be one of you before you know it.

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In Part Two, SuperLiga in a CONCACAF Champions League World.

MLS/SUM needs to reformat the SuperLiga or risk losing it

FACT: The CONCACAF Champions League was reformatted specifically to overshadow the SuperLiga tournament launched by MLS/SUM.

Let’s face it, when CONCACAF announced its new confederation club championship format in November of 2007, it was a direct result of the North American SuperLiga which launched earlier that year.

This new tournament, and its “$1 Million” prize threatened the already low importance and profile of CONCACAF’s “showpiece” club event. So they decided to trump the MLS by recreating their tournament in the image of UEFA’s event, a tournament that arguably ranks second only to the World Cup.

The results for MLS have been worst-case on two fronts: First, their teams have been painfully exposed as not only second rate in CONCACAF, but second rate on their OWN SOIL; Second, MLS’ SuperLiga had become irrelevant in only its second season.

The former issue should result in USL earning one spot for the Champions league. They’ve earned it. MLS has been exposed as not being the premier tier of soccer in terms of on field production.

Anyone looking at the form displayed by teams in the two circuits and says differently is living in a bubble where whatever the MLS/SUM spin machine cooks up is fact (eg. apparently “fixture congestion” and “roster size” does not apply to USL squads in international competition). 

USL has split the Open Cup semi final spots with MLS the past two years, won the 2008 Canadian Championship, and outplayed MLS vs international competition in the CCL.  MLS sides have underperformed for the past eight years in the Champions Cup and then were outperformed when USL had the opportunity.

Case Closed. Just like UEFA, spots should be awarded based on winning. Not if Beckham chose to play 20 games in your league or not.

As for the latter issue, MLS has now been forced to slot in four other “best available” teams to battle Mexico’s Champions League qualifiers for the 2009 edition of the tournament. My, how quickly this tournament has travelled the road to “irrelevant exhibition.”

However, CONCACAF did leave one remaining page from the UEFA playbook for Garber & Co. to use in salvaging some value from this tournament. The SuperLiga, with two key tweaks, can exist just fine as a sub-regional North American cup, much like the Europa League.

First, change the qualification requirements by forcing Primera to also send its fourth-eighth available teams, add the US Open Cup and Canadian Championship runners-up, and add USL's top three teams (excluding the Islanders from CONCACAF’s Caribbean Zone).

Twelve total teams get split into four groups of three; top two teams from each group after a single game round robin move on to two groups of four; top two teams in each group after a double robin move on to a four team knockout stage.

Secondly, stop hosting all games on U.S. soil. Continuing this will not only make the “exhibition” cloud larger and darker, and brings a cold fact glaringly to the fore: U.S. & Canada’s club teams struggle pitifully with Mexican competition on Mexican pitches.

Move to a “home field advantage” format. Period. In order for clubs to get more confident with international competition, and our national teams in turn, we need to stop playing our highest profile matches at home.

If MLS is worried about revenues from the event, they may simply request a percentage of all gates as tourney facilitator, and its settled.

And yes, USL should be invited to the SuperLiga. They’ve earned that too. If this tournament wants to be recognized as a legitimate subregional championship, it should include all leagues where teams are eligible for the CONCACAF.

Otherwise, if all legitimate competitors are not invited, this tournament should go the way of the PanPacific Championship (SUMs other tourney) and be played as a preseason friendly.

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Question

What is the theme that links the noted events of the following North American professional sports organizations together?

1.      MLB, The First World Series, 1903

2.      NFL,  The First SuperBowl, 1967

3.      NBA, The ABA Merger, 1976

4.      NHL, The WHA Merger, 1979

Answer

These events mark the major catalysts, or the completion of, each sport’s respective turn into North American pop culture. Also, each of these events involved not one league, but competition between two major professional sport entities.

What this means for soccer in North America (ie the US and Canada) is this. Major League Soccer, the current $40million fee/team bet, will never “get there” unless an external entity makes a serious competitive push to get there first. In their case, they need the United Soccer Leagues to be the entity.

In other words, history as we know needs to repeat itself, and with the birth of the CONCACAF Champions League and the North American SuperLiga, the environment is ripe for MLS and the USL to do the game of soccer a big favour and get this process underway as soon as 2010.

But in order for the growing process to begin, a number of key actions need to be taken by the USL, MLS, US Soccer and, if they can effectively mobilize, the Canadian Soccer Association.

This four-part series will examine some of the facts facing soccer in North America and four items that need to be addressed to help soccer grow in its most underdeveloped market.

One – The United Soccer Leagues needs to start competing, but not on the field (but if they are going to compete on the field, do so in a “Challenge Cup”)

FACT: The difference between MLS and USL-1 is not quality of play, but marketing dollars, and competitive leadership.

The inaugural CONCACAF Champions League has been an eye opener in terms of destroying preconceived notions of USL-1 the second tier league.

Going into the final 45 minutes of the second leg of the quarterfinals, two USL-1 teams were a game of “keep-away” from the quarterfinals, while an MLS team found themselves under a three-goal deficit.

Now while there have been many debates about what this says about USL’s right to a bigger seat at the US Soccer and CONCACAF tables, the fact of the matter is this.

While USL-1 teams are out their succeeding in international competition, MLS is at home collecting an inflated $40 million per team for USL-1 owners to cross the street to buy what is effectively the same house, at least from the perspective of international play.

As idiotic as the concept sounds, if I were a USL-1 owner, I would do the same thing because the custodian of the league, USL President Francisco Marcos, has essentially stood by and let it happen.

Following a much needed shot in the arm that the CCL has provided. Marcos needs to get up and start competing directly with MLS.

It starts with protecting whatever franchises he has remaining as of Mar. 31, 2009. To sit idly by over the past three years and let four of his best supported franchises be courted by the MLS for inclusion would be grounds for termination had he not been the founder of the league.

During that time, USL-1 has lost its most successful franchise (Sounders), and at bestwill lose its current champion (Whitecaps) by the end of the month.

Marcos needs to start giving his owners a reason to stay with him, and given the economic climate, his best reason is staring him dead in the face: He’s CHEAPER to work with than Garber and MLS (at $750K per franchise), plus he’s less intrusive.

The process of bringing the owners back into the fold should start with his biggest remaining stars, Saputo and Paulson (he hopes), and work its way down.

To gain the commitment of his owners, Marcos needs a clear strategy for competing with MLS, and that has to include positioning his league as an alternative format to MLS.

And though Marcos has not yet realized it, he already has the pieces necessary to satisfy a need that MLS currently is unable to: The relegation system.

With USL-1 and USL-2 hierarchies already established, a merger of the two leagues to create a relegation system between two 11-team groups will fill a void that many “traditionalists” have criticized MLS for.

For example, the two divisions play a 20-game regular season, the top three USL-1 teams play off for the league title, the bottom two are relegated, the top two USL-2 teams are promoted, and the top 16 teams (based on previous season play) play in a “cup” competition during the season.

Fans craving for something closer to a European format may be more likely to be drawn to the United product. Marcos can then position his PDL and Super-20 divisions as the academy-based alternative to the MLS draft-based system of bringing in talent.

Owners (and fans) will be attracted to the opportunity to discover, develop, and keep their own talent and this “European” system is the best way to develop national team caliber talent.

The final action that Marcos needs to take to fortify his organization is to start courting the cities, and owners, left jilted by Garber and the MLS.

In particular, he should focus his attention on St Louis and Ottawa (either Melnyk or the Hunt group) with  the opportunity to have CONCACAF level soccer for less than 25 percent of the cost they hoped to spend with Garber.

If these owners truly have the desire to invest in the game, they would jump at the opportunity, particularly if Marcos can express a clear plan for the success of the league ongoing.

With a strong group of owners behind him Marcos can then begin to directly challenge Garber to prove he has the superior product. Taking a cue from history, proposing an annual” Challenge Cup” between the USL League and or Cup Champions against the MLS Cup and/or Supporters Shield Champions can only help the games profile.

Using Toronto as an example, this is a no brainer. Following last summers Canadian Championship and the Impact’s success, Reds fans HATE Montreal and the USL for that matter. Their interleague rematches this year will easily be the biggest games of the season.

A good rivalry generates press and motivates improvement, particularly between two warring leagues in a sport’s infancy. A “Challenge Cup” represents that rivalry and generates the needed story to warrant national press, if even once a year.

Some would say it worked for the AFL/NFL and pro football back in ’67, but the jury’s still out on that one.

When it comes down to it, USL needs to pull itself together and begin challenging MLS and its marketing created perception of superiority.

Otherwise USL risks getting lost behind the MLS/SUM marketing machine, losing attendance, and ultimately folding. A fate that under any circumstances, history says is bad for the game.

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Austin Aztex, the newest professional team in the U.S., continued their preparations for their inaugural season in the United Soccer Leagues First Division—North America’s second tier behind Major League Soccer—with a spirited 2-2 draw against Texas rivals Houston Dynamo last weekend.

Formed in 2008, the Aztex organisation has quickly assembled a squad which stands every chance of being competitive when the 11-team USL-1 season kicks off on April 18.

The club is owned by Stoke City board member Phil Rawlins, an Englishman based in the Texas state capital, and the two teams have a formal partnership which will see the Aztex acting as a potential source for future Potters players.

Further links between the teams run deeper than Austin’s adoption of red-and-white jerseys. Manager Adrian Heath is best remembered for his trophy-laden Everton days in the mid-1980’s but he was born in the Stoke area and started his career at the old Victoria Ground.

Heath has bolstered his fledgling squad of young American talent with four players from England’s lower leagues, the most notable being another former Stoke man Gifton Noel-Williams.

The Aztex will play their home games at Nelson Field; a humble 8,800 seated high school stadium that promises to unsettle visiting teams.

The two-sided ground lies adjacent to the main highway running eastbound to Houston and its open ends create a wind tunnel which, compounded by the artificial surface and dominating presence of American football lines, adds complexity to the simplest of tasks.

As with any new business, attracting customers in the opening months and retaining their loyalty thereafter is paramount to building future success. Rawlins will be pleased that the 4,177 fans in attendance last week—albeit a sizeable chunk making the 160-mile trip from Houston—were treated to an entertaining game.

The travelling El Batallón and Texian Army supporter groups did their part to create a lively atmosphere while Austin’s stadium announcer enlightened the novices among the home crowd with frequent updates on the action.

Hopefully he won’t be required to trumpet every “Corner to Austin” for too long.

The enthusiasm in Heath’s side was evident from the first whistle as the two-time MLS champions struggled for time on the ball.

Despite some slick play by Dynamo midfielders Brad Davis and Stuart Holden, the Aztex struck first on 21 minutes when Noel-Williams released Sullivan Silva down the right to score the club’s first ever goal.

An exuberant Silva sprinted to the West Stand to be embraced by fans and team-mates alike while our trusty announcer did his best to sour the historic moment by blasting DJ Ötzi over the tannoy.

An amusing indicator of the highly-professionalised approach ingrained in American fitness methods was provided when Silva emerged from the ruck. There was no card-happy referee laying in wait to punish his over-elaborate celebrations; rather the team physio demanding that he sup from a water bottle to replenish lost fluids.

Sadly for Silva he was to become better acquainted with the physio minutes later after limping out of the game.

Brian Mullan restored parity for the visitors on 34 minutes before Noel-Williams’ ebullience saw him dismissed following a second caution for a hard challenge on Holden. In truth, it was a harsh decision and one of many abysmal calls made by the match officials.

Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear came to the aid of his opponents by asking the referee to allow Heath to introduce a substitute in place of his fallen captain.

Kinnear said afterwards: “We wanted to play against eleven. It’s an exhibition so it doesn’t do either team any good to play with a man down.”

Austin received further assistance in first half stoppage time courtesy of a unique officiating gaffe.

Former Dynamo reserve Kyle Brown’s effort was thwarted on the goal-line by young goalkeeper Tally Hall.

Dynamo captain Wade Barrett reached the rebound ahead of Eddie Johnson, but his attempts to clear were derailed when the former Manchester United trainee clearly bundled him and the ball into the net.

As the referee ran to the six-yard line signalling a direct free kick, the opportunistic Johnson wheeled away in delight towards the same section of the crowd while Austin’s players again joined the melee.

Still our esteemed officials waited before realising nobody was paying attention to them. With “Pump up the Volume” by M/A/R/R/S now filling the night sky, the referee simply cut his losses and trekked back to the halfway line.

Kinnear made wholesale changes at the interval with only one outfield player reappearing, but his reserves drew level on 47 minutes when trialist Eric Quill completed the scoring.

Kei Kamara looked to have won the game for Houston when he rounded goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo and found the net, only to be denied by another bizarre refereeing decision.

Gallardo was adjudged to have deliberately handled the ball outside his penalty area as he failed to deny the Sierra Leone international. Play was pulled back in any case—Houston were rewarded with a free kick; Gallardo went unpunished.

From then on the Aztex backroom staff became the busiest people in the ground. Waiting substitutes received thorough muscle rubs to prepare them for action while those being replaced were diligently checked by the physio before being put through their warm-down paces by the fitness guru.

At first glance, the rigorously attentive preparation off the field allied with a combative, enthusiastic spirit from his players suggests that Heath can look forward to a promising opening campaign.

Whether the team’s successes or failures are debated in the city’s famed Sixth Street bars or not...well, that may have to wait another few years.

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