Cleveland can't seem to get a break on or off the field lately. The Sporting News unveiled their top sports cities in their magazine and C-Town only placed at #22 in the nation. Adding insult to injury, our arch rival on the Gridiron - Pittsburgh - was named the best sports town in country. Here is the Top 10 compiled by the magazine

Pittsburgh
Philadelphia
Boston
Chicago
LA
New York
Miami
Dallas
Detroit

I have a feeling that when Shaq and Lebron are holding the Larry O'Brien trophy the rest of the country will see how good of a sports town we really have here on the Northcoast.

Lost in the Braylon Edwards trade news was a disturbing development out of Cleveland Cavaliers camp today. Troubled guard Delonte West has taken a leave from the team to take care of personal problems. The Akron Beacon Journal reports:

He (West) returned to his home in Maryland to take care of some legal and personal issues and is expected to return to the club in several days.

Although Cavs coach Mike Brown and LeBron James both said West will be welcomed back to the team with open arms, they still have to prepare for life without the troubled guard.

West's absence leaves a gaping hole for the Cavaliers. Not only is the 26 year old the starting shooting guard but also is the backup point guard for the squad.

Another wild week in Cleveland sports. In the last week we saw:

• Eric Wedge got his walking papers with only days remaining in the season. I had heard of lame duck presidents before but a lame duck Major League manager was a new one for me.
• Delonte West of the Cavaliers missed the first two days of practice. On media day he was upbeat and stated he wanted to focus. The next two days he was AWOL. I think Dan Gilbert should get Dr. Phil to do a show on the troubled shooting guard. Imagine the ratings that would get in Cleveland.
• The Browns actually looked like a football team on Sunday, and if you look at the individual statistics you wonder how they actually lost the game to the Bengals. With Derek Anderson's play on Sunday I am wondering if Brady Quinn has bigger nightmares of when he was outhshined in the Insight Bowl during a blowout loss to Anderson in 34-21 trouncing, or if he has harder feelings that he cost the former Notre Dame star about $12 Million dollars when he proved he is a better quarterback for the Brown and Orange.

The troubles of Delonte West continue to grow as the troubled guard failed to show up to practice this afternoon for the Cleveland Cavaliers. West, of course, was charged with carrying a number of loaded guns after being stopped by police two weeks ago. West, who has been dealing with well publicized personality issues, said just yesterday that he was looking forward to focusing on the upcoming season in which he will be an intriguing part of if the Cavaliers want to win a championship ring. A good way to remain in the headlines is to be AWOL on the first day of practice.

If you are a Cleveland sports fan, you are probably still numb on this Monday morning. If you are a Brady Quinn fan you probably are slowly coming to the realization that the former first round draft pick Notre Dame is not the answer at quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. You probably are also a little worried that Derek Anderson has regressed after his 2007 Pro Bowl appearance. Here are some of the other things we learned in Cleveland sports world this week:

• The Cleveland Indians have a promising left hander in David Huff. Huff has been a bit inconsistent in this season with the Tribe but when he is good, he is really good. He displayed fine form finishing off a sweep of Baltimore with 8 scoreless innings pitched. He better watch out if likes the City of Cleveland because winning left handed pitchers seem to disappear from the area a rapid pace.
• There wasn't much to hang your hat on watching the Browns unravel in Baltimore on Sunday but there was one sign of life. Jerome Harrison contributed 85 total yards yesterday catching 5 passes for 33 yards and rushing the ball on the ground for 52. Hardly earth-shattering numbers but it makes you wonder why he doesn't see the playing field very often for the offensive starved franchise. His missed assignments blocking on passes probably aren't helping his cause.

An amazing thought occurred to me last evening. Perhaps it stemmed from a bit of serendipity. As I was I leaving my sisters to drop off Dan Brown's acclaimed new novel, she had to mention to me that she could no longer support the Cleveland Browns and, in fact, was going to boycott them for their lack of on field success. When I got home, I logged into Facebook to see I had been invited to a new group entitled "Boycott the Browns" and how could you not join after sitting through so many miserable seasons of losing football. For the record, my sister is not on Facebook but I will consider her a member in good standing along with countless other Clevelanders who are fed up with this mess of a franchise.

Nike has released a new LeBron James shoe in New York City. Only 123 Air Max LeBron VII kicks were made and were themed in the colors he wore at Akron Saint Vincent Saint Mary as the shoes are also helping to promote his new book and movie.

These shoes won't come cheap, either. Pairs of the new shoes are already priced at over $300 at many second hand retailers. And unless you plan on flying to Niketown in New York where they are likely already sold out, you probably won't be able to get your hands on the Cleveland Cavaliers superstar's latest release who once again is not so quietly hinting at his departure to the Big Apple as the heels of the shoe reads "NYC".

I have decided to start a weekly column giving a recap of some of the important going-ons on the local sport scene. Here are some of the things that we learned this week in regards to Cleveland sports.

• Cleveland Cavaliers player Delonte West gave a new meaning to being a shooting guard.
• Terrelle Pryor can sure produce against a MAC team. Unfortunately for Ohio State, the Buckeyes do not play in the MAC. It is apparent watching the highly acclaimed sophomore that he has some major areas to work on. First and foremost is his footwork. Maybe the good news is that he will probably be smart enough to stick around for four years with Jim Tressel. If he leaves next year, he won't get drafted very high unless he wants to play in the NFL as a wide receiver.
• Brady Quinn looks like Tarzan, throws like Jane.
• The Cleveland Indians have packed it up this season. If you haven't looked in awhile, the team is on a 7 game skid. Don't worry Tribe fans, you only have to deal with Eric Wedge grinding it out for about two more weeks until he adds to the growing list of Ohio's unemployed.

The fact that Dan Gilbert, owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the National Basketball Association will own casinos is reason for a NO vote against the casino issue on the November ballot.

I can’t understand how NBA chief David Stern can look the other way when one of his franchise owners combines basketball in Cleveland with a casino.

The NBA and Stern were marred when the FBI investigated and found that NBA referee Tim Donaghy was betting on games he officiated.

It seems to me that not only does it put the NBA in a ticklish situation but it also puts Cleveland Cavalier players in a bad position.

Would LeBron James, for example, spend some time in Gilbert’s casino after Cavs games? Would he be barred? If he were barred, why would he be barred? Or Delonte West?

It raises serious questions. If he were barred one reason obviously would be that he’d likely be rubbing shoulders with bettor on Cavs games.

Now you wouldn’t expect that James would have to ingratiate himself with gamblers but you never know, do you?

Stern admitted that half of NBA referees violated the league’s no gambling rule by visiting casinos in one year. Stern took the violations lightly, saying that the rule was “overly broad.”

Awfully lenient of Stern.