“How long does it take to forever change history? To mend a lifetime of broken hearts? To turn the doubtful into the faithful? To turn a nation of nonbelievers into the converted? Well, if you do it right, it takes just one second.”

— AT&T World Cup Commercial

I am a soccer fan, I admit. I love the game, and have for nearly a decade now. It began for me back in 2002, with my then-roommate watching World Cup games on ESPN. At first, like many American sports fans, I scoffed at him, belittling it as boring and slow. These judgments I passed without ever even watching a full game.

But slowly, surely, the competition reeled me in. I began to understand the flow of contest, and how it was different from any other sport. How hard-working and athletic the players had to be. How rabid and enthusiastic the fans were. How, though the game was timed, it was not ruled by the clock alone. And, though goals may have been hard to come by, how magical they were when they occurred.

So, I became a fan. Not an over-the-moon die-hard, mind you, but a fan. I began watching games as often as I could, mainly on the Fox Soccer Channel, which is basically the only place you can find soccer 99% of the time. I awaited World Cup season every four years like it was Christmas morning.

And, like every American soccer fan, I endured the endless criticism from other American sports buffs. My own ill-informed views from years past now sting as I hear a game I love mocked by people who, like me back then, often have never even bothered to watch it.

The reasons they give for their disdain really don’t stand up to any scrutiny. Soccer is boring, they say. Yes, there are boring soccer matches, just like there are boring events in any sport. But there are also tremendously exciting ones, too. And much of what we consider “exciting” in American sports is much more dull than we acknowledge.

I mean, our version of football consists of 4 seconds of guys pushing each other, 40 seconds of players standing around, then 4 more seconds of guys pushing each other. Studies show that for every 60-minute football game, on average there’s only eleven minutes of actual, physical action. Eleven minutes of game spread out over three hours of telecast. And soccer, which is practically non-stop movement, is the “boring” sport.

This doesn’t even begin to address baseball, which is an even greater offender in the “nothing is happening” area. And I’m not trying to bury either of these sports — I love baseball, and I certainly enjoy American football, as well. I’m just pointing out how, when you really look at what our society finds exciting, soccer would seem to fit right in.

The criticism continues: Nothing happens in soccer, they say. If by “something happening,” you mean “goals,” then yes, goals are at a premium. But there’s almost always something happening, and in this sport, a draw can be just as much of a victory as a win. The rules are hard to understand, they say. Not at all. In fact, they’re refreshingly straightforward. And how often has an exciting touchdown been negated by an obscure penalty that happened far away from the ball?

Really, when it comes down to it, I think there is one big reason why soccer hasn’t made any headway in the American imagination: We’re not very good at it yet. As Patton said, “Americans love a winner, and will not tolerate a loser.” Every four years at the Olympics, we pump tons of money in an effort to prove that we have the best basketball/hockey/etc. players around. Our football may not be that popular elsewhere in the world, but if it was, we’re still confident we’d whip everyone’s butts.

American soccer hasn’t had that. We came close to a breakthrough last Wednesday, with Landon Donovan’s breathtaking goal against Algeria. Then the USA lost to Ghana in the round of 16, and everybody came back down to Earth.

But a funny thing happened — people I never heard talk about soccer were watching that game. Commenting on it, interested in it. And when the USA lost, their attitude was not dismissive, but hopeful. “We’ll see you in four years, world!”

Soccer isn’t a major sport stateside yet. And it won’t take “just one second,” as that commercial claims. It’ll take a lot longer. But with each passing World Cup, perceptions are changing. And the more popular the sport becomes, the more athletes will try it, and American teams will get better. And the day comes closer where an American team will make a real impact on a World Cup tournament.

It may take a lifetime of work and support. But that one second of glory would make it all worth it.

E-mail Jeff at PopGoesJeff@gmail.com.

By JACK CARLE

The (Bowling Green) Sentinel-Tribune

Members of the Lake High School community are just trying to get some normalcy back into their lives after a devastating tornado swept through Lake Township earlier this month.

For 16 young men interested in playing golf for the Flyers this fall, that meant showing up for a team meeting just days after the tornado.

However, Casey Blank and Michael Kranz, lost all their personal golf equipment when their homes were destroyed. Also, all of Lake’s team equipment was swept away when the high school was destroyed.

“That first workout was Tuesday after the tornado and I didn’t expect to see those guys,” Terry Tansel, the head golf coach and a teacher at Lake High School, said about Blank and Kranz. “I felt awful the whole practice just wanting to do something for these kids.”

Still, the two, Blank a sophomore and Kranz a freshman, were ready to play golf and were going to use borrowed equipment if needed.

After that first practice, Tansel started making phone calls and he spoke with Steve Jubb at the PGA of America. Jubb quickly passed the information along to Dominic Antenucci, the executive director of Northern Ohio PGA, and within three hours Blank and Kranz were going to be outfitted for top of the line Titleist clubs, bags, balls and shoes.

“It wasn’t an hour after I talked with Dominic that he called back and said Titleist would outfit the kids. It wasn’t more than two-and-a-half hours after I made the initial call that these kids were all taken care of, no questions asked,” Tansel said. “It really says a lot about what the PGA is willing to do for the sport, the kids and to help out.

“Really the PGA has been great to these kids. The response has been awesome,” Tansel added. “It says a lot about the golf community because it is a sport like no other. … You’re learning life lessons out here.”

Antenucci said the PGA was more than ready to help.

“Every time I talk to Terry, he is so upbeat,” Antenucci said. “He’s a special coach. He’s a life skills coach.”

And it hasn’t stopped there.

“They needed a lot more than just golf equipment, so we helped them with lessons, we helped them with places to play and further equipment. You ask one person for one thing and it just compounds into other things,” Antenucci said. “It’s just a (golfing) community effort to help them get back into golf and into life.

“This goes far beyond athletics,” he added. “We’re learning, teaching and performing life skills.”

TaylorMade is providing home and away shirts for the team; the Haas-Jordan Umbrella Company is providing team umbrellas; Brand Team Athletics is providing Blank and Kranz with $500 worth of Nike apparel and the team with eight new golf bags.

“I think it’s very nice what they have done,” Blank said. `”It’s great that they would do stuff like that.”

“I think it’s really cool because I haven’t experienced all this kind of help before,” Kranz said. “It’s just really cool that people help out this much. It was nice that they would help out the whole team.

“I’m pretty excited (about the new equipment). I’ve been looking forward since he (Tansel) told me about it.”

Blank added that the support has helped bring the team together.

Several golf courses in the area are opening their venues for a practice round for the team. The Flyers will get tickets to attend the Jamie Farr LPGA Classic that starts Monday at Highland Meadows and will later be able to play the course.

The Flyers will also be attending a practice round of the World Golf Championships at the Bridgestone Invitational being played at Akron’s Firestone Country Club in August.

And this weekend, Blank, Kranz and freshman Nathan Ray were playing in a junior tournament at Firestone with Antenucci.

As part of the weekend, the Maumee Bay Golf Course was taking care of some meals and hotel rooms for the Blank and Kranz families.

“It’s going to be pretty cool,” Blank said earlier in the week about playing Firestone.

“I know the pros play on it and stuff, but I don’t know anything about it,” Kranz said about Firestone.

Blank and Kranz both had planned to just tee it up and have fun.

“There are a lot of good things that come out of tragedies and we just wanted to be a part of it,” Antenucci said.

Gov. Ted Strickland is asking the state auditor to explain why a performance audit of the Ohio Lottery won’t be completed in the coming weeks as initially expected.

Auditor Mary Taylor, the running mate of the Republican who seeks to unseat Strickland in November, began the review in January, with the lottery calling the undertaking unreasonable and unnecessary.

The release of the audit is not being delayed, said Taylor spokesman Chris Abbruzzese.

“Work has not stopped,” he said. “It’s not unusual for timelines to be revised.”

But Strickland spokeswoman Amanda Wurst said it appeared work was finished last month and the process stalled for reasons that haven’t been publicly announced.

She said the audit has been unusual from the start.

“This is the first time that a performance audit has been forced on an agency,” Wurst said.

The review is separate from annual checks of financial statements. Taylor had said she wanted to make certain the lottery is operating efficiently, amid what she described as “heightened risk” for the agency. She pointed to the uncertain nature of gambling revenue, along with the voter-approved constitutional amendment allowing casinos in Ohio’s largest cities.

Taylor’s office will present a draft to lottery officials when the audit is finished and allow them to respond, with their feedback to be included in the final report, Abbruzzese said.

He said office policy says no audits can be released within two weeks of an election.

Taylor in January dropped her re-election bid and became the running mate of John Kasich, a former Congressman who faces Strickland in this fall’s election.

Lottery Executive Director Kathleen Burke had questioned whether the audit was a wise use of taxpayer funds. The lottery will bear the cost, which was estimated $118,000.

A June 18 letter Burke sent to Taylor says that the lottery was told in December that the report should be finished by early July and that the timeframe was changed to August without explanation.

“In summary, I find this delay to be puzzling, irregular, and without reasonable explanation and request that you reinstate the previously provided schedule,” Burke wrote.

The last performance audit of the Ohio Lottery was in 2000, according to the auditor’s office.

Lottery spokeswoman Jeannie Roberts said auditor and lottery officials met June 1, but that she could not reveal what was discussed.

“They gave us a timeline, and we were expecting them to follow it,” Roberts said. “We would like to move along with the process.”

Two Ohio horse tracks have been cleared for sale to gambling giants in deals that will further consolidate power on the state’s evolving gambling landscape.

Las Vegas-based Harrah’s Entertainment is paying $43 million to buy Thistledown, a bankrupt track in Cleveland. Ohio Racing Commission director Tom Fries Jr. says the firm is poised for a potential joint venture with Rock Ventures, the developer of planned casinos in Cleveland and Cincinnati.

Penn National Gaming is paying $37 million to buy central Ohio’s Beulah Park. The Wyomissing, Pa.-based company owns Raceway Park in Toledo and rights to casinos planned in Columbus and Toledo.

Both track sales were cleared by the commission. If voters agree in November, tracks may begin featuring slots-like video lottery terminals.

The YMCA and JCC of Greater Toledo Board of Trustees voted to tear down its building at Woodsdale Park and turn it into green space.

“[The board decision was] based on the options we had available to us, or selling it or finding a viable alternative for the building. We’ve had zero interest from the community. As far as viable reuses there isn’t any that have come forward to us that the board feels comfortable with,” said Todd Tibbits, president and CEO of the YMCA and JCC of Great Toledo.

Tibbits said leaving a vacant building on Anthony Wayne Trail is not an option. The building was closed in December, but the organization has been unsuccessful in its efforts to sell the property.

The cost of keeping to building vacant is $165,000 annual, Tibbits said. The cost to demolish the property and parking lot is between $160,000 and $170,000.

The organization intends to begin the process of demolition soon, Tibbits said.

The YMCA is in discussions with the City of Toledo about possibilities of making the new green space part of the existing Woodsdale Park.

Dear University of Toledo Alumni Association:
Thank you for the recent notice that my alumni association membership is about to expire. While I greatly appreciate your services, I am not going to contribute to the association this year. I wanted to write to you and explain my reasons.
In mid-February, I contacted the UT Ritter Planetarium staff to request permission to organize a news conference to announce the launch of Toledo Free Press Star in the observatory. It was to be a major expansion announcement for our business, and as an alumnus, I was proud to announce the birth of Star in the perfect setting of Ritter Planetarium.
I corresponded with Nancy Morrison, director of the planetarium, who warmly granted permission for the news conference and put me in touch with the planetarium staff members who could help me arrange the announcement. We wrote back and forth a few times about projecting the Star logo on the planetarium dome and what we would need to do to make the news conference a showcase for Star and Ritter Planetarium.
We invited some community leaders we respect to stand beside us and say a few words at the news conference: Toledo Mayor Mike Bell and representatives from the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Regional Growth Partnership (RGP). We invited 75 supporters and sent a news release to electronic media, asking them to join us at the UT Ritter Planetarium on Feb. 25.
One of the supporters we invited was Lawrence Burns, UT vice president for external affairs and interim vice president for equity and diversity. Upon receiving the invite, Burns e-mailed a few questions to Toledo Free Press President and Publisher Tom Pounds, asking how we arranged the conference. On Feb. 23, less than 48 hours before the news conference, Burns e-mailed Pounds and revoked our permission to appear at the planetarium.
Pounds went back and forth with Burns, trying to appeal the decision or understand the change of heart, to no avail.
I fostered a Plan B by arranging to announce that a Star would be born at the Westfield Cinema De Lux movie theater; its owners, Texas-based Rave, were very generous with their time and space.
Being kicked off the public and partially taxpayer-funded campus was unsettling, but there were more disappointments in store. In the hours before the conference, the representatives from the chamber of commerce and RGP  dropped out, one citing illness and one citing travel conflicts. The chamber sent a representative to the news conference. RGP did not.
The day of the announcement, we nervously awaited word from Mayor Bell, but at showtime, he appeared, stood beside us and helped us make our announcement. No reference was made to the behind-the-scenes conflict. Once the event was finished, we went back to puzzling about the chain of events. We filed a Freedom of Information Act request for UT President Lloyd Jacobs’ and Burns’ e-mails on the topic of our news conference.
‘Very risky’
According to the e-mails Toledo Free Press obtained, this exchange took place between Burns and Jacobs on Feb. 22 and 23.
Burns: “Lloyd, Just in case you were unaware of this occurring on our Campus. Thanks.” (news release announcing Star expansion was attached to the e-mail).
Jacobs: “Risky!”
Burns: “Very … didn’t know about it until I received the email.”
Jacobs: “Should you or I call mike B. and others? Let’s discuss”
Burns: “I have a call into Nancy Morrison.”
Jacobs: “Good work, Larry.”
Burns: “Thank you.”
By the tone of the exchange, one might believe the university dodged a major bullet by canceling an almunus’ job creation announcement. I am not sure how our small business expansion could be “very risky” for a gargantuan institution like UT. What risk would we curse UT with by announcing Star’s job creation at the planetarium?
Experience and paranoia, in a 90-10 mix, usually lead us to The Blade when something perplexing causes us pain. We knew that Joe Zerbey, general manager and president of The Blade, sits on the UT Board of Trustees. That is an obvious conflict of interest, but are Jacobs and Burns so intimidated by The Blade that they tremble at the “very risky” concept of a Toledo Free Press news conference? Is the perceived threat to UT or to The Blade?
It is one thing for Jacobs to “protect” UT from The Blade by snubbing Toledo Free Press, but think about the hostile aggression he displayed by suggesting he and Burns “call mike B. and others.”
I have no proof that Jacobs, Burns or Zerbey called the chamber and RGP, but I believe someone did, and that someone convinced them to distance themselves from our job-creation announcement. We have been told for a fact that Zerbey called Mayor Bell’s office and tried to counsel/suggest/advise/intimidate him into staying away.
Bell did not cower as the others did, and we are grateful and respectful for his courage.
Nowhere to go
Despite the malicious example set by UT’s pseudo leaders, Toledo Free Press has continued to cover as much UT news as possible; Pounds has kept his philanthropic obligations; and I kept all of my sponsorship and speaking commitments. The week after the news conference, I spoke to three different UT journalism classes in two days.
Until you contacted me, UT Alumni Association, I had nowhere to take my grievance about Jacobs’ and Zerbey’s abominable behavior. How could I complain to the UT Board of Trustees when one of its members, and the institution’s president, not only condone such offensive behavior, they initiate it?
Any complaint on my part, as one lone alumnus, would surely result in the UT Board of Trustees circling the wagons around ersatz public servants Jacobs and Zerbey, not result in the investigation, sanctions and apology the situation would merit among honorable men and women.
At the very least, it is incumbent upon UT’s Board of Trustees members — except Zerbey — to reflect upon this interaction. You are paying Jacobs and Burns a combined $633,000, but are they the ones in control? What other decisions are being made, not with UT’s best interests in mind, but with The Blade’s best interests in mind? How many community leaders — in government, development, media and other walks of life — have been victims of this fearful, spiteful and malevolent confederacy of poltroons? How much on-the-job time does Jacobs spend scheming to appease his chieftains?
If one of UT’s missions is to help Toledo evolve into a “university town,” part of that mission must be to unite the community, not divide it. Jacob’s belligerent and hostile actions offer no indication that he wishes UT to be anything other than a tool for the change-resistant network of corruption that cripples any forward momentum Toledo dreams of.
One of the great lessons I learned while attending UT was the importance of speaking out against corruption, even if no one else has the courage to stand beside you at first. I want to assure you that any further aggression against or unfair exclusion of my or any other alumnus’ enterprises on behalf of Jacobs’ abject alliance will be promptly and prominently reported, across as many media forums and outlets as possible.
Live and learn
Pounds saw Jacobs at a meeting a few days after the news conference and tried to talk about what had happened, but Jacobs cut him off with an arrogant, “Live and learn, Tom.”
I told this sorry tale to a UT official I respect and trust, and he responded that while Jacobs’ and Zerbey’s actions were reprehensible, it would be a mistake for me to “punish the institution for the failings of its temporary caretakers.”
But I have to tell you, UT Alumni Association, I felt a bitter wave of distaste when I opened your letter requesting I renew my membership. How am I supposed to be a proud, supportive UT alumnus when UT isn’t proud or supportive of me? I wonder how many other alumni, after reading this, will feel that disappointment, and respond accordingly. I wonder if you even care. I wonder what it will take to make you care.
Core values
On one of my visits to speak at UT, I saw a poster in University Hall that displayed the “core values” of UT’s mission statement.
It includes the following ideals:

• “Treat every individual with kindness, dignity and care; consider the thoughts and ideas of others inside and outside of the University with a strong commitment to exemplary personal and institutional altruism, accountability, integrity and honor …
• “Provide a collaborative and supportive work environment, based upon stewardship and advocacy, that adheres to the highest ethical standard. Provide services that meet students’ and regional needs and where possible exceed expectations; be … a center of excellence for cultural, athletic and other events …
• “Engage in reflective planning and innovative risk-taking in an environment of academic freedom and responsibility.”

Perhaps, UT Alumni Association, you can use another alumnus’ donation to buy and install a “core values” poster inside Jacobs’ office. He obviously has not read the one in the hallway — I’d rather believe that than believe he holds your “core values” in such contempt.

Sincerely, Michael S. Miller (Class of ’96)

UPDATE:

From video of June 22 Town hall meeting with Jacobs:

Burns; “What was the risk you referred to in an e-mail to [Larry Burns] regarding to having TFP event at Ritter Planetarium in February?

Jacobs: “As I see it, a university venue should be used very carefully … We have been very careful about what university venues we allow to be used for public events. We have never used the planetarium to promote for-profit undertakings, with a couple of exceptions that were university spin-offs. In my judgment, using the planetarium, where seating is unusual … and parking is minimal for an undertaking not …  integral to what a great university does, constitutes risk.”

Toledo Free Press media partner FOX Toledo is reporting that “American Idol” season 9 runner-up Crystal Bowersox, of Elliston, will perform live June 28 on 101.5 the River. The River will have a Bowersox autographed guitar to auction off with benefits going to tornado survivors.

Details here.

The June 27, 2010 Toledo Free Press e-edition is now available.

Gov. Ted Strickland’s office is still hoping for federal money for tornado relief.
After a Federal Emergency Management Agency letter dated June 24 denied Strickland’s request for federal money, his office is appealing the decision. He has 30 days to do so, according to the letter.
The letter stated that “the damage was not of such severity and magnitude as to be beyond the capabilities of the State, affected local governments, and voluntary agencies.”
The state has set aside about $673,000 for relief, said Kelli Blackwell, public information specialist for Ohio EMA. Blackwell would not say if that was enough.
Blackwell said the state is not asking for a specific amount of money.
“With a federal declaration, there is not set amount of money, it’s just to have the federal assistance available to the impacted population,” she said.
While working on the appeal, the state will look for additional damages or costs that were overlooked at first.
She did not know how long it would take to file the appeal, but she said it would be done within the 30-day period.
“We are seeking an appeal, and that’s not something that is done instantly, but we’re in the process,” she said.

Twenty years ago, the young man I was might have looked at the middle-age man I am and shook his head in denial. I am closing in on 10 years of marriage to a patient and endlessly fascinating woman. We have two boys, Evan, who is now 4, and Sean, who is now 2. We recently installed a white picket fence around our suburban home. For the boys’ mid-June birthdays, we gave them a puppy.
So, to recap:
Wife, check.
Kids, check.
Dog, check.
Minivan, check.
House in suburbs, check.
White picket fence, check.
I am what I swore I would never be: an American cliché.
Twenty years ago, I would have thought this status unattainable. Partially because I envisioned a starving artist existence of global exploration and a legacy of tortured genius writing, broken hearts and an early-30s demise, possibly at the hands of government assassins, more likely in a mundane auto crash on a coastal highway. Mainly because I could not envision a scenario in which I would deserve such blessings of normalcy.
From where I stand today, as husband, father and gratefully employed editor, I look at who I was then and vigorously shake my head in denial. My younger self was about the excitement of the carnal chase, emotional chaos and writing as primal scream therapy.
Now, I’m a daddy.
The epiphany is that the security, stability, love and relative calm of now is worth a million lifetimes more than one minute of then.
Every day, I am more invested in my love for Evan and Sean. I soar when they fly and I crash when they stumble. Every new word they learn, I relish as if hearing it for the first time. As the love grows, so does the investment in our responsibility for keeping Evan and Sean safe. The inspiration for the fence was to give the boys a defined boundary in which to run and play without having to worry about them dashing into danger. I think about the fence a lot when I am making decisions about risk and allowing the boys to explore and assume the consequences of exploration.
I believe we have set a healthy atmosphere for Evan and Sean to make mistakes and learn when it comes to matters of pushing their limits. Climbing higher stairs, running faster, testing social boundaries and acceptable behavior standards are situations in which the metaphorical fence keeps them in.
But there are situations that require parents to bolster that fence to keep threats out.
On the eve of the party celebrating Evan and Sean’s birthdays, our neighborhood learned that a convicted pedophile has been seen acting suspiciously around a group of our neighbors’ children.
According to the official Michigan Public Sex Offender Registry, there are 27 known registered sex offenders in Tecumseh. Two of them have multiple convictions for criminal sexual conduct with incapacitated victims.
Shudder.
Marvin Lee Ruppert, according to the state registry, has been convicted of criminal sexual conduct in the second degree with a person under 13 and possession of child sexually abusive material. He was reportedly seen on our street within the past few days, “acting suspiciously” around a group of girls all under 9 years old. Police have been notified and fliers with Ruppert’s picture and sex offender history have been distributed.
On our street, there are six consecutive houses with children ranging from 2 to 13 years old. Since news of Ruppert’s alleged behavior has surfaced, the kids on our street are no longer playing in front yards, bicycling, pulling each other in wagons or walking dogs along the sidewalk. All the kids are now in backyards, sealed within fences, under watchful eyes. The moms in the neighborhood are anxious and watchful. There is a low hum of protective energy running through the men on our street; every one of us has talked and agreed to be on guard.
I have never met or even seen Ruppert; I do not care if I ever do. But I hate the threat he represents. I hate the shadow of evil and malevolence his actions epitomize. I hate that I no longer see our neighbors’ kids playing on front porches or chalk drawing on sidewalks. I hate that my sons are no longer out there, either. I hate that along with all the controllable and uncontrollable things I worry about as a father, I now have to worry about my neighborhood like a lifeguard has to worry about a section of ocean invaded by a dead-eyed shark with nothing but pain and shredded flesh on its mind. I hate the sudden, unwelcome awareness I now have of the other 26 sex offenders who live in our city. I hate knowing there are more, unregistered offenders in our area who have yet to be discovered. I hate that anyone might see our two beautiful and loving boys and divorce them from their humanity in favor of viewing them as targets for perversions beyond the imagination of good men.
I hate that I hate.
There is a gate in our fence, designed to one day swing open and allow our boys to leave us behind, to venture out into the world with the best coping and thinking tools we can provide. I cannot control the evil that lies beyond that fence, and I hate that fact most of all.

Michael S. Miller is editor in chief of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. Call him at (419) 241-1700 ext. 223 or e-mail him at mmiller@toledofreepress.com.