One down three to go

and the hometown Cleveland Indians have taken the first game of a best of five series with the New York American League baseball team. It is of no use to refer to the losing NY team by its nickname ' yankees' of which it seems to have little more in common with than Cleveland has with it's Indians , nickname. I dislike both team nicknames for different reasons.

Indians are either folks that come from the continent of India and enjoy the ancient sport of cricket, not baseball as a National pastime , or native folk from the North or South American continent that resent being portrayed as mascots for a midwest North American sports franchise.

In any case not many of either of the above " Indians ' exist around here in Cleveland , Ohio. What passes for ' Indians ' are mostly caucasian suburban sports fans who like to paint and dress up in red and white attire and whoop it up while vomiting around the sidewalks of downtown Cleveland after watching their beloved 'Cleveland Indians' beat up the New York American league ' Yankess' or some other baseball team. These same fans often change color with the seasons.

Not uncommon for some of them to paint themselves orange and brown while stumbling around half baked and on all fours while barking like dogs and rooting for yet another local sports team nicknamed aptly enough , ' Browns'. This current strain of "Browns' however are actually alien invaders , the original 'Browns' having fled here sometime ago to become 'Ravens'. I realize all this is quite confusing and hardly literary , stick with me and I will finish soon.

Promise.

This being the 21st century no more actual "Yankees" reside in New York City. These mythical 'Yankees' became extinct around the time of the publication of Washington Irving's Knickerbocker Tales , or the Legend Of Sleepy Hollow.

These original 'Yankees' lived up the Hudson River and knocked around in canoes or horses , not the automobiles , taxicabs , or subway trains of today. Time has come to rename the above sports teams.

Send your suggestions here , the best entries will recieve a free sports book of our choice.

Speaking of books on baseball and sports we have many in our inventory these days of need of a new home. In keeping with the season, we can offer over four hundred different baseball titles for your reading pleasure.

Please go to olderiestreetbooks.com and have a look at our baseball titles offered for sale.

Reading about baseball is a far less expensive way to follow our American pastime than attending the actual games these days , and if you turn on the radio and close your eyes while listening to a baseball game perhaps you will be fortunate like myself to awake to find that the Cleveland ' Indians' gave the New York 'Yankees' a good old fashioned arse kicking by a score of 12 -3.

Rip Van Winkle's first name seems to spell out the remainder of the New York 2007 baseball futures.

RIP NY AL 2007.

Make a nice custom automobile license plate as well. Though not to worry , the Cleveland team is cursed as well, never will the Cleveland American League baseball franchise win the World Series while nicknamed ' Indians'. Better the Cleveland bunch is revived as one of their former nicknames 'Spiders', 'Naps', or 'Forest Cities'.

Or any modern moniker that reflects the rapidly deserting population of Cleveland ,Ohio.

Send suggestions.

I prefer 'Naps' , but will accept any nickname save 'Indians'.

Break the curse!

Curl up with a baseball book this winter . A great read I can recommend is DAMN YANKEE BY Maury Allen, available from olderiestreetbooks.com.

---