None of this is cast in stone for reasons I will explain. I tried to base my ranking on the perceived strength of opponents. For example, St. Ed’s and Lake Catholic both narrowly beat strong opponents -- Mentor and St. Ignatius, respectively. Solon trounced a weaker Shaker Heights team.
These are all perceptions, however, which might be wrong. But we must start somewhere. It won’t be long before these perceptions are validated or disproved.

Protestants are probably puzzled at what’s going on with the Catholic Church. Hell, Catholics are puzzled.

When a couple hundred Catholics cleaned up an old warehouse and went to Mass there last Sunday, all hell broke loose. The Bishop threatened to excommunicate them.

If the Justice Department ever goes after the city of Lakewood on the language issue, the printing bill could bankrupt the city.

A Plain Dealer story today points out that the Justice Department is putting pressure on the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections to print bi-lingual ballots to accommodate Spanish-speaking voters. What about accommodating other recent immigrant groups, such as the various Middle Easterns, Africans, Russians and other eastern Europeans?

This is Monday, Aug. 16, the anniversary of the deaths of the two greatest showmen in American history, Elvis Presley and Babe Ruth. You cannot name a greater entertainer in their fields. Babe died in 1948, Elvis in 1977. Both were fat and self-indulgent.

This also is the day that Indians shortstop Ray Chapman was beaned by Carl Mays in the Polo Grounds in 1920. Ray died the next day, Aug. 17, the only player killed in a major league baseball game. Tomorrow -- Tuesday -- is the 90th anniversary of his death.

This is truly remarkable that there are six teams worse than the Indians in all of baseball. A seventh team -- Kansas City -- is equally bad.
It is remarkable because the Indians’ starting lineup usually includes three batting averages in the .100s. Three guys can’t even reach the Mendoza line! I don’t think this has ever happened before, not even in 1968, the year of the pitcher. I’m serious. We’re talking about three regulars hitting in the .100s in August.

Fausto Carmona is starting to resemble C. C. Sabathia. The Indians might have to put a full-time tailor on the payroll to keep letting out Fausto's shirts and pants. The Indians have so many different uniforms, the poor tailor might burn out the motor on his sewing machine. Fausto is a bigger size every time he starts.

My only complaint with LeBron is how he did it, his rudeness toward Dan Gilbert and his megalomaniac TV announcement.

Other than that, who can criticize a 25-year-old kid for wanting to spend his winters on South Beach? Sixty-five-year-old retirees do the same thing and we wish them well. They save the state income tax bite and they save a lot of money on snow plowing their driveways.

Kudos to the Los Angeles Times for uncovering corruption that makes Cuyahoga County look like a rookie league. Maybe you saw the story today.

In the town of Bell, California, a blue collar community south of Los Angeles, the city manager makes $787,637, the assistant city manager makes $376,288 and the police chief makes $457,000.

Well, what the hell. The town of Bell can afford it. The population is 40,000 and the poverty rate is only 17 percent.

I find in my files a story I wrote about LeBron James. Here's the lead:

"I am ... reporting live on the 6 o'clock news and I am thinking of Phineas T. Barnum.

"The sword swallower just downed a saber. The bearded lady is on next. Twelve clowns just got out of a four-person car. Hide the peanuts and watch your step. Here come the elephants.

"Yes, folks, it's an absolute circus surrounding LeBron James. Please pass me the cotton candy."

First, forward this to any old grads from St. Edward High School. By old, I mean the 1950s and '60s.

Just left the funeral Mass for Jim Connors, age 93, St. Edward's first varsity basketball coach. He coached the Eagles the first time from 1952 through 1956. He came back briefly from 1964 until December, 1965.