myerstownherald.com

By ERIC FISHER
An old adage in sports is that you build through the draft. That is what NFL teams were doing last weekend and that is what hockey, basketball and baseball teams will do in June.
But what if we could draft our own sports world? What if we could select where we watched games, who announced them and who played them? In other words, what if we could shape our own sports world through the draft?
My hunch is that our sports worlds would look very similar to how they were when we were growing up. Then again, some of you may prefer progress to nostalgia.
Below is my Philly-centric list. Feel free to use these categories to draft your own customized sports world.
The first thing we need is a place to play.
Stadium (baseball): My baseball team would play in PNC Park. The views of downtown, the bridges, etc. are simply perfect. The only problem with baseball in Pittsburgh is the Pirates, but we can fix that in our fantasy draft.
Stadium (NFL): I admit I’ve never been there, but Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium looks like a cool place to watch a game.
Stadium (college): Beaver Stadium. A huge stadium with a great atmosphere. If you sit up high – and it’s really high – the views across Happy Valley are spectacular.
Arena (NHL and NBA): The Spectrum. We’ll have to replace the scoreboard and widen the concourse, but there’s no better place to watch a game than the soon-to-be departed Spectrum. Despite holding more than 17,000 people, the Spectrum is a much more intimate setting than any of the newer arenas.
Arena (college): The Palestra. This brokedown palace on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania is the cathedral of Philadelphia basketball.
Now that I’ve got a place to play, I’m going to have to assemble a successful organization.
Owner: Rick Hendrick. Hendrick Motorsports is a well-oiled machine. Hendrick hires good people, then allows them to do their jobs. Hendrick Motorsports wins championships, and it wins with class.
Promotions: Vince McMahon. If he can turn a professional wrestling company into an international business and pay-per-view powerhouse, imagine what he could do with a team with a fiercely loyal fan base. McMahon, however, won’t be in charge of the cheerleaders’ uniforms. We want to keep this a family-friendly sports enterprise.
Mascot: The Phillie Phanatic remains the best in the business. He’s entertaining without being foolish or mean. The kids love him – and many adults do, too.
Now that we have our organization in place, we’ve got to set up our television and radio package.
TV contract: We’ll take the NFL’s TV contract. That money will guarantee a sizeable profit, which we can reinvest in the team.
Production: FOX’s NASCAR broadcast. They take you inside the car, on the track and inside the race. Fantastic production with excellent information and analysis.
Broadcasters: I’ll bring back the late, great Harry Kalas. For baseball, I’ll reunite Kalas with his good buddy Richie Ashburn. And Kalas can also do football. For hockey I’ll draft legendary Flyers broadcaster Gene Hart, whose passion for hockey poured through his microphone and created hundreds of thousands of hockey fans.
Public address announcer: Dave Zinkoff. There are many announcers with distinctive calls, but the Sixers’ Zinkoff was the originator.
Statistician: The Sixers’ Harvey Pollack. Pollack invented the triple-double and hundreds of other statistical categories.
What would a team be without players? Here are some of my favorites.
Players: Sixers point guard Maurice Cheeks; Flyers center (and current Carolina center) Rod Brind’Amour; Phillies left fielder Greg “The Bull” Luzinski; Eagles safety (and, sadly, current Broncos safety) Brian Dawkins; Phillies shortstop Larry Bowa; Flyers defenseman Derian Hatcher; Flyers right wing (and current general manager) Paul Holmgren. Nationally, I’ll take Colts quarterback Peyton Manning; Royals third baseman George Brett; Braves center fielder Dale Murphy; Packers (not Jets) quarterback Brett Favre; Bears running back Walter Payton; Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin; and Dallas Mavericks backup guard Matt Carroll (a player I’ve known since he was in ninth grade).
Uniforms: Call me crazy, but I like the green and gold of the Oakland A’s. I’ll also take the old kelly green Eagles uniforms, especially if we include the white helmets with the green wings.
Now we need a few more things for game day and we’ll be ready to roll.
Referees/umpires: My crew includes NHL veteran Kerry Fraser, outstanding baseball umpire Doug Harvey, and my good friend Eric Gregg, who left this earth too early.
Music: We’ll need to draft a terrific organist. There won’t be any blaring, canned music in my arenas.
National Anthem: Lauren Hart, daughter of former Flyers broadcaster Gene Hart, will perform “God Bless America” with (via videotape) the late Kate Smith. On special occasions, I’ll bring in Ray Charles to sing “America the Beautiful.”
Parking: Free. And our arenas and stadiums will be easily accessible via public transportation.
Now all we need is someone to write about the games.
Sports writer/columnist: Me. You were expecting Stephen A. Smith?